You are the pearl of great price

Again, The Kingdom of Heaven is like a Merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all he has and buys it. Matthew 13:45-46

What is the pearl of great price? It is the thing searched for. The thing that all else is set aside so one can pursue single-mindedly. Like the coin or the sheep, the pearl is at the forefront of the merchant’s mind.

You are the pearl. You’re the prize pursued. You’re what the merchant - Christ - gave all he had to purchase. Not as a possession, but paying the price for your redemption.

You are the pearl of great price.

How is a pearl formed? In the sea, a grain of sand gets inside the shell of an oyster. The grit is irritating to the oyster, but unable to remove it, the oyster coats the grit with nacre. That doesn’t remove the irritant, but makes it smooth. It turns the annoyance into something beautiful.

I don’t want to go too far with the metaphor, because with Christ we are transformed, not just covered, but I want to leave you with this: In his relentless pursuit of you, He has “sold everything” to purchase you. He descended from his throne in Heaven, took human form, humbled himself to be born of a woman, gave his very life on the Cross for your redemption.

He took something fallen and separated from God and restored something lost.

The things that irritate you become the valuable. It is not the well who need a physician, but the sick. It is for the sick, wounded, and fallen that Christ was crucified. Your sinful state is what draws in the healing heart of Jesus. He doesn’t wait for you to present your beautiful self to Him. He is who makes you beautiful.

You are the pearl of great price.

Lord, how are you forming me? What irritation in my life are you restoring, reforming, healing? I believe that you redeem me because you have said it. I long to feel your strong, yet gentle hands smoothing out the rough edges of me. I offer you all that I have and all that I am for you to make into who I need to be for Eternity.

I only see what is temporal. I know that you see everything in the scope of eternity and are more concerned with my eternal soul than my temporal comfort. Give me your eyes to see what is actually good and beneficial, not just what feels good right in this moment.

Show me how You see my sins and shortcomings. Help me to detest my sins and love your commands.

I delight in your commandments, which I dearly love ~ Psalm 119:48