Even in the most desolate of fields, the treasure of knowing Jesus better is buried deep. So buy the field and start digging!
As Joni Eareckson Tada celebrates her 73rd birthday, she invites you to join her in sharing the Good News of Jesus with people struggling with disability!
Give in Joni's Honor
Looking for more encouragement? Follow Joni on Facebook and subscribe to her daily devotional. Listen to all of Joni's 4-minute and 1-minute programs at joniradio.org!
Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Get involved at joniandfriends.org or on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
As I turn 73 tomorrow, I am reflecting on a certain parable of Jesus.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I am talking about the parable that Jesus told in Matthew 13. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like [a] treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” So what does this have to do with me turning 73 years old? Well, at my age I can say that I have bought that field and, oh, what a treasure I’ve found. You see, you’ve got, we all have, a field that God wants us to purchase and, normally, when we think of that field, we assume it’s attractive, something we would love to purchase anyway, a sun-drenched meadow dappled with wildflowers. We think God wants us to buy a beautiful field. But it rarely is. Life is not like that. The field – that is, the “thing,” whatever it is, that God wants us to embrace – is usually unattractive; maybe even bleak, like a sandlot with broken bottles and old tires scattered around. Ah, but of course, once you know that scrubby sandlot contains a treasure, the picture changes, right? Now, that ugly scrap of field suddenly brims with possibilities. Once you know a treasure is hidden in that hard circumstance, now you are ready to sell everything to buy it.
Do you get what I’m saying? The field God wanted me to buy was my life in a wheelchair. It was not very attractive and, in my case, “selling everything” meant giving up self-pity, giving up resentment over a body that did not work. Selling everything meant, for me, no more comparing my lot in life with others’. “Buying that field” meant using my time to dig into God’s Word and spend more hours in prayer – like, those things are the pick and shovel needed to unearth the hidden treasure in that field, right? So yes, I bought the field; and I have spent most of my 73 years making payments on it. On the surface, my field still looks bleak – the paralyzed legs, hands that don’t work. Nobody else would ever, ever want to buy this field. But to me, it is beautiful. It’s priceless. Because underneath the surface of my field is the treasure. And oh, the priceless treasure of knowing Jesus better. And I agree with Matthew 13 – it’s like possessing the kingdom of heaven.
And this is what I am celebrating. I am so rejoicing in God’s will for my life: this paralysis, this wheelchair. For when I embraced his will and bought the field that nobody else would have ever wanted, everything changed – everything! And I would not trade it for the world. So, as I celebrate my 73rd birthday tomorrow, I am thanking God for the treasure these years have given me. With each birthday, I am unearthing, I am digging up, digging down, deep into my field and discovering even more about Jesus and his kingdom. And I want to share these riches with other disabled people who have yet to see that “there is a treasure in them thar hills;” that is, “you can find Jesus in your disability!” So, celebrate my birthday in this way, would you? Tomorrow at my birthday party, people are not bringing fancy gifts and big presents. My friends are donating to my birthday and sharing the treasure of Jesus Christ with thousands more disabled people around the world.
If you’d like to join in, go to joniradio.org today and give a gift. It’ll go directly toward helping people embrace God’s will for their lives. So, dear friend, God bless you for helping us in this great cause for Christ. Help people buy their field at joniradio.org!
© Joni and Friends