The kingdom of heaven is the pearl of great price, which the merchant sacrifices all of his other assets to obtain: he sells all that he has in order to buy it.  And this is the image the Lord gives us for how he wants us to view our Faith, our relationship with God: everything else can go; we have to be willing at least, to let go whatever we have to, in order to obtain and maintain that relationship with our Creator and Lord, and to ensure our place in the kingdom of heaven.  We are called to put all our eggs in this one basket.  Now, good financial planners will tell you not to do this kind of thing: always diversify your portfolio: don’t keep your eggs in one basket.  No matter how attractive it seems, don’t ever sell everything and put all your money into one stock.  And they’re right.  Because nothing on earth can actually be relied upon that confidently.  But God can.  It is actually reasonable to put all your eggs in his basket.  You don’t have to hedge your bets.  It is wise to sell your entire portfolio and buy all shares possible of the Kingdom of God.  Because God is always faithful; he never lets us down; we can always trust him.  The Kingdom of God is the pearl of great price: it’s so precious and so irreplaceable that it’s worth any cost.  

This is one of the main witnesses provided by those who have given their lives entirely to Christ and the Church: good holy priests, monks and nuns, religious sisters and brothers.  Those who have given up family and career, for life: talk about putting all your eggs in one basket.  It’s a reckless thing to do.  It’s unwise, imprudent.  But being reckless with charity, reckless with love of God, reckless with sacrificial service to others: that’s actually the wisest and most prudent thing one could possibly do.  And even though we priests and religious are especially clear signs of this kind of dedication to Christ, assuming we’re faithful, each and every Christian is called to this kind of recklessly total dedication to Christ, within the context of whatever state in life you find yourself in.  A married person with a job and a spouse and children is called every bit as much to this complete dedication to Christ; to putting every single egg in this basket; to trust and serve God no matter what.  

We see this in great king Solomon, who was majestic and glorious but did not ask for not for long life, or riches, or victory over his enemies, but for understanding to do what was right.  And the Lord was pleased with this request and granted Solomon this true wisdom.  May God give us the grace to cry out with the psalmist, “Lord, I love your commands, and your law is more to me than silver and gold,” sure in the confidence that, for those who love God, all things conspire together for good.  Lord, give us the pearl of great price, and give us the grace to cling to it, no matter what.