Pearls

Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!
Matthew 13:45-46 NLT

I have always loved pearls. I think they are exquisite. I was in my twenties when my Aunt Amelia told me pearls were associated with sorrow and tears, and she was saddened to think pearls were my jewels of choice. Actually, that just made me love them more. I think the sorrow and tears thing has much to do with the way pearls are formed; something irritating to the oyster. We know the irritant in the life of the oyster is wrapped in layers of nacre, creating the pearl. 

It's been a long time since I gave serious consideration to pearls and gems, so I thought I'd better check my facts. According to Pearl International, 

     "These layers  [of nacre] are translucent, and reflect light in such a way that a real pearl appears to have an inner glow that is almost impossible to recreate with artificial methods.
     If they are perfectly uniform without any differences or imperfections, it’s very likely that they were manufactured. Real pearls are born in the sea, so they grow up getting rolled around by wind and waves, and as a result, they are never, never perfect.
     In nature, the longer a pearl remains within an oyster’s shell, the more likely it is to develop imperfections like dents and divots. As a result, pearls of a very large size can be extremely valuable."

It just reminds me of my walk with Christ in so many ways. First and foremost, HE is the pearl of great price to me. Everything else is worthless compared to Christ. And yet, HE gave everything HE had for me. How can you not love a God who considers you priceless? 

Philippians 3:7-9 The Message says it all, Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness.

And He's a God who wraps us in layer upon layer of His protection so we might reflect His light in such a way that we have an inner glow. Not shiny and brassy, but glowing.

We're not perfect. We're not perfectly uniform. We're not all the same. But we are beautiful in His sight and we are extremely valuable to Him.

Prayer:

Father,
           I'm overwhelmed by You! Your love. Your mercy. Your grace. Your faithfulness. How could we possibly thank You enough for all You have done and all You are doing even now? In our finite way, we love You, Father. We want to love You more. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen