Jesus loved to tell stories. All were powerful, but some, like the one below, were incredibly brief.

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

 At first glance, this doesn’t appear to be much of a story. Jesus is making a comparison. He told his listeners that the Christian life (kingdom of heaven) was like a man who found a field with a treasure in it. Motivated by his joy at the valuable thing he had found, he went and sold all that he had so he could go and buy that field.

If you asked Christians as to why others should pursue the Christian life you would likely get an assortment of answers. “It’s the right thing to do”. “It’s the truth”. “It’s our duty or obligation”. There is truth in all of these answers, but Jesus in his short tale was offering up a different thought. Joy. Joy should be the motivation that drives us to follow God and to love others.

We are all motivated by joy or happiness. Everything we do is based on the hope that it will make us happy. The things we buy, the places we go, the friendships we make, are all driven by the pursuit of joy. It doesn’t always pay off. No one will ever make us happy all of the time and purchases only lead to other purchases when the new wears off. The message of Christmas, however, is that with the arrival of Jesus, we now have access to unending joy. It doesn’t mean that we won’t face difficulties or heartache, but that the presence of Jesus in our lives provides an undercurrent of joy even in dark days.

May we all find the joy our hearts have been eagerly seeking this Christmas!