Direct Answer
Giving up everything confronts our wish to keep Christ and our comfort zones at the same time. The parables hold joy and cost together because the treasure is worth more than all that is sold.
Support from the Message
- Bill identifies the treasure as Christ: His life, His teaching, His redemption and His kingdom. - He says the response in the one who becomes part of God's kingdom is great joy in spite of the cost. - He says Christ requires us to give up everything to follow Him. - He says the pearl was worth selling all to possess, and that Christ requires us to sacrifice all else to claim Him as Lord. - In closing he calls the kingdom a treasure demanding you sell all and a pearl worth every sacrifice you can make.
Discussion Follow-up
Bill does not list what each person must give up. What are you holding back from Christ, and what would joyful surrender look like in that area?