The Pearl of Great Price

In Matthew 13:45-46, Jesus speaks to his disciples a parable. He says, "45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it."  But what makes a pearl be of great price?

In the world today, you can pull up any number of YouTube videos to see pearl farms and the way in which they operate.  A clam or oyster is removed from the bed where they have it cultivated and pried open gently with a blade so as to not injure or kill the mollusk.  They gently pull back the membrane of the upper shell to remove the pearl that has grown inside and then replace the "seed" inside the membrane to begin the process over again.  The process is so refined that the farmers can produce multiple pearls, often having several beds going at a time to increase the production.  Due to the sheer volume of these farms and the consistent product which is produced, these are not valuable heirlooms to be passed on for generations to come.

Now, if you were to go into the ocean diving for oysters or clams that becomes a different story.  A naturally occurring pearl is much more valuable.  It did not happen because something was placed inside of it to make it produce something. It happened by chance: a piece of shell becoming broken and getting lodged inside, a piece of sand, even a parasite attaching to the lining of the oyster or clam. 

Whether naturally occurring or produced in a farm, what happens next is much the same. There becomes a secreation of nacre that begins to coat the irritant that has lodged itself within the mollusk. This nacre is also called mother-of-pearl because out of it the pearl is birthed.  Without it, you would only find whatever irritant was introduced. 

I was talking earlier today with a sister from church regarding the hardships and heaviness that has been upon my shoulders lately.  We both exclaimed at almost the same time that I must be being formed into a giant diamond.  But as I've reflected and thought, it's not a diamond that God is making me into.  It is a pearl.  The constant irritants entering into my life allowing the Holy Ghost to be activated to cover over them as He protects me from the damage which these irritants long to do. 

When this process of formation is complete, my life will be the pearl that He desires it to be. 

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