Pearl Of Great Price

Neatly dressed up, I drove into the city a few weeks ago for a yearly medical visit. Wearing a new wristwatch, stunning earrings, spiffy high heels, crisp flowing dress, makeup, etc., Following the exam I ran a few errands around town and rapidly hurried back home to feed our farm animals. Hastily, I slipped off the fine jewelry and my pearl ring accidently fell down the air conditioning/heating vent. Bummer. Oh, bother. Thankfully and on the positive side, I haven’t lost my wedding ring (yet) these 33 years. Gorgeous rings and nice pieces of jewelry bring great delight to me. So although my values are a bit skewed, I longed for this particular ring. Fairly inexpensive, yellow gold and unusual in that it had a small diamond inside the pearl’s setting came with a necklace to match.

Right away, praying about the incident, I included a ‘forgive me Lord for being in a frantic pace—again, for the umpteenth time.’ Oh, the heartaches I would avoid if only I would travel a bit slower, think before I speak, practice peacefulness and patience, ad infinitum. But that’s another blog. Yet, the following moments proved beneficial while seeking the Lord because my mind refocused on another pearl. In the four gospels, Jesus often taught about the ‘kingdom of heaven’. He explained scripture truths to his disciples by encasing them in parables “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).

Within itself, the pearl is a beautiful single entity, formed by adequate suffering and abides deep inside the heart of an oyster. In my opinion, Jesus signified that one is not worthy of the kingdom if he or she does not recognize it’s precious value and forfeit all they have to obtain the ‘pearl of great price.’ Also, those who choose not to believe in the kingdom of heaven enough to stake their whole future on it are unaware of just how immensely important it is.

Some Biblical scholars think Jesus Himself is the pearl of great price and I agree wholeheartedly. Christ, our indescribable treasure, deserves first place in our hearts. Everything else becomes secondary. Finally, just so you know, the air-conditioning man retrieved my ring. But, not before (I hopefully learned) an unforgettable powerful lesson “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field. The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord, and so it is with people. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:6-8 NLT).