MAKE GOOD TRADES

Kids trade everything. Some kids still love to trade Pokemon cards; other kids trade one toy for another or switch lunches at school. It's always fun to see what someone else has that they might like to trade.

This week's Gospel (Matthew 13:44-52) is about trading, too. Jesus says that some people can't wait to make a really good trade -- trading whatever they can for heaven!

If you're into trading, you know that sometimes you have to make sacrifices. Maybe you'll give up some Pokemon cards you kind of liked to get a better one that is really rare; maybe you'll give up two toys to get one really good one.

The people in the Gospel story did the same thing. When they learned about heaven, they didn't mind giving up everything else they had to get there! If heaven is like a pearl, Jesus said, a man will sell all his other stuff to own it. If heaven is like a field, someone will sell her house, her furniture and everything else she owns just to buy that field.

You trade because you think something else is worth more than what you have. But there's one thing no one would want to trade away: a chance to go to heaven!