朋友瑞爾出席了在老同學家裡舉辦的高中同學會。這位老同學的海濱豪宅座落在菲律賓馬尼拉灣附近，足以容納兩百位賓客，這讓身處其中的瑞爾不禁自慚形穢。

瑞爾告訴我：「多年來，我一直開心地在偏遠的農村教會牧會。雖然我知道不應該，但我還是忍不住羨慕老同學的富裕生活，心想若我大學畢業後從商，人生會多麼不同！」

接著，瑞爾又笑著說：「但後來我提醒自己，這沒什麼好羨慕的。我將一生投入於事奉上帝，而我所得的將會存到永恆。」我永遠記得瑞爾說這句話時，臉上平靜的表情。

耶穌在馬太福音所說天國的比喻（13章44-46節），讓瑞爾可以如此平靜。他知道上帝的國度才是終極至寶，人們能以各種方式去尋求這至寶，並為此而活。對某些人來說，這也許意味著全職事奉，而對另一些人而言，可能是在職場上傳福音。無論上帝如何使用我們，我們都可以持續信靠並順服祂的帶領。正如在耶穌的比喻裡所提到的那個人一樣，我們也能確信，你我已擁有永不朽壞的無價至寶。我們跟隨上帝所得到的，遠比世上一切事物更加寶貴（彼得前書1章4-5節）。

若我們把生命交給上帝，就能結出永恆的果子。

My friend Ruel attended a high school reunion held in a former classmate’s home. The waterfront mansion near Manila Bay could accommodate two hundred attendees, and it made Ruel feel small. 

“I’ve had many happy years of pastoring remote rural churches,” Ruel told me, “and even though I know I shouldn’t, I couldn’t help but feel envious of my classmate’s material wealth. My thoughts strayed to how different life might be if I’d used my degree to become a businessman instead.”

“But I later reminded myself there’s nothing to feel envious about,” Ruel continued with a smile. “I invested my life in serving God, and the results will last for eternity.” I’ll always remember the peaceful look on his face as he said those words.

Ruel drew peace from Jesus’ parables in Matthew 13:44−46. He knew that God’s kingdom is the ultimate treasure. Seeking and living for His kingdom might take various forms. For some, it might mean full-time ministry, while for others, it may be living out the gospel in a secular workplace. Regardless of how God chooses to use us, we can continue to trust and obey His leading, knowing, like the men in Jesus’ parables, the value of the imperishable treasure we’ve been given. Everything in this world has infinitely less worth than all we gain by following God (1 Peter 1:4−5).

Our life, when placed in His hands, can bear eternal fruit.