Matthew 13:44-46

44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Ten years ago, I took a new job in the city where I grew up, after having lived away for the four years since I had graduated from college. It was a much better job than I had and we were excited to move back home. Our only problem was that we had to move half way across the country, we got no money from the company to do it, and we also had no savings to do it, or any money to live on once we arrived. I applied for a credit card and thank goodness was approved for a $4400 limit. Before it was over we had pretty much maxed out the card and I also remember at one point having to deposit $6 in my bank account so that I had the minimum $20 needed to get cash out of the ATM. Fun times!

But I knew this job was a break for my career. I also knew it would pay well enough to allow us to live better than we ever had before, though that did not help us with the immediate needs. This opportunity was for me a little like the "pearl of great price". I am not a risk taker by nature, but I knew this was a good deal, so much so that I was willing to get into some debt to have it, and even when it got tough I still had no doubt about the decision. Doctors and other professions that require a lot of financial and other sacrifices up front know this concept to a much greater degree. The point is, when we know we have found a deal that has long term net benefit in it for us, we will often give up what we have today to obtain it. I think Jesus is saying that heaven is the ultimate example of this concept. Based on this passage and others like it, I think that if we could completely understand what awaits us there, there would not be any non-believers left, everyone would take the deal.