Notice how Jesus reveals the Father’s desire for His people in the following two parables:

“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. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matthew 13:44-46).

To understand these parables, we must understand that the central figure of both of these parables is God Himself. In this chapter of Matthew, Jesus related another parable in which a man sowed seed in a field, and an enemy came and sowed tares among the seeds. Jesus explained to His disciples that the man in this parable was the Son of Man, and the enemy was the devil.

Another parable in Luke, chapter 15, describes a father who had two sons. We call it the Parable of the Prodigal Son, but it is not a revelation of a son. Instead, every verse reveals the father’s attitude. The Heavenly Father is the main character in this parable as well.

The two parables in Matthew 13:44-46 reveal something about the nature of God. In the first parable, a man discovered a treasure buried in a field. The treasure was of more value to him than everything he owned. Being an honest man, he decided that if he could buy the field he would then own everything in the field. He hid the treasure again and sold all he owned to purchase the field, thereby obtaining the treasure.

In the second parable, a man was looking for beautiful pearls and found one of the most superior in quality that he had ever seen. He said to himself, “That is the pearl I must have.” He had to sell everything that was of value to him to get the pearl.

The man referred to in these two parables is God. But who is the treasure, and who is the pearl? We are the treasure. We are the pearl. When God sees us, He sees a treasure. And He was willing to go to any expense to have us as His own. It required God to pay the most costly price that has ever been paid for anything. But because God wanted us, Jesus came and paid that awesome price: His life for ours.

Jesus did not just pay this price for the mass of humanity. He paid this price for individual people like you and me. If we had been the only person to ever receive His sacrifice, He would have paid the same price just for us. Can you imagine that? We mean that much to Him. We are His most valuable treasure! He was willing to go to any length to make our companionship with Him possible.

When we see the price that was paid from that perspective, we will begin to realize the value that God places on us. Value is determined by the price that is paid for something. Our value is revealed by the price God paid to make us His own — His only Son. We are God’s most valued possession!