The Pearl of Great Price

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:45-46, ESV). Jewelry can be fascinating. Have you ever thought much about the gemstones listed in the Scripture? One of those is in our reading this morning. The more I thought about this parable, the more I wondered why Jesus chose to use a pearl instead of a diamond? At first thought I would question the choice the Lord made choosing to leave the Father's side for a pearl instead of what we would think of as having greater significance. You probably know that the diamond is graded in value according to the 4-C's: Cut, Color, Clarity and Carat-weight. The answer to my pondering was right there! The diamond receives a substantial portion of its value from the way a person cuts it. The work of man's hand! The only natural gemstone that has more value when it is found than when men finish with it is the pearl. Like the pearl, men can add nothing to the value of their salvation. The pearl is formed when a foreign object somehow enters the inside of the oyster, and instead of ejecting the object or irritant out, as most humans would try to do, the object is covered by the oyster with layer upon layer of a substance secreted from it's own body. The object that came into the life of the oyster as an irritant, instead of being cast out is turned into something lovely within the oyster. We are like that “irritant” with our sin coming to Christ. Think about other details of the pearl. The longer the pearl stays in the oyster the more valuable it becomes. Isn't that the character of our God? When He found us we were worthless in our sin, but by God's grace, we can be of value to His Kingdom! God is using our time now to conform us into a beautiful image of His Son. The pearl is formed in a Living Object! No dead rock is the pearl, it comes from life. The very life of the oyster is given to the pearl. In Him we enjoy eternal life, and much more! The true value of the pearl is not seen from the outside. To the world around it the pearl is just another barnacle covered nasty looking shell. So we cannot truly know what we are like by looking merely at the outside. It is inward character that God desires to develop in all of us. Sometimes that development is painful. Persevere in your walk with Christ and let Him transform you from merely an “irritant” to a pearl of great value! Trust Him to bring only good from every experience in your life. You will find that in His hands there is nothing that can harm you.