Tuesday, May 25, 2010

~PEARLS OF WISDOM



The pearl holds a special place in Christianity. 

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Firstly, let's look to Scripture...

Christ depicted Himself as The Pearl of Great Value in one of His parables:

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it." ~Matthew 13:45-6 (NIV)~

The gates of the New Jerusalem are described as being made of pearls:

"The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl." ~Revelation 21:21a (NKJV)~

This makes perfect sense since Christ described Himself, not only as The Pearl of Great Value, but also in the following way:

"I am the door; if anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."
~John 10:9 (RSV)~


Secondly, the pearl can help to teach us eternal truths...

The rough appearance of oysters on the outside belies what beautiful  things can be grown on the inside.  Though appearances can take up much of our time and worry, what's on the inside really is what counts.

"But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'" ~1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)~

"Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." ~2 Corinthians 4:16 (NIV)~

The pearl serves as a beloved Christian metaphor for being steadfast and enduring trial--for making something beautiful out of something unpleasant.  This is because of how a pearl is created.  When an irritant gets inside a mollusk's shell and cannot be expelled, the mollusk responds to the irritant by coating it with
nacre--and through time and effort, a pearl is born.  The oyster takes that irritant and makes something valuable out of it.

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."
~2 Corinthians 4:17 (NIV)~

"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong." ~2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NIV)~

"Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him."
~James 1:12 (RSV)~

"As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls." ~1 Peter 1:9 (RSV)~


The coating process the oyster works in order to create the pearl is a sort of sanctification and reminds me of the following verse:

"Love covers all sins." ~Proverbs 10:12b (NKJV)~

The following was written by American clergyman Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969):

"Most of us can afford to take a lesson from the oyster.  The most extraordinary thing about the oyster is this.  Irritations get into his shell.  He does not like them; he tries to get rid of them.  But when he cannot get rid of them he settles down to make of them one of the most beautiful things in the world.  He uses the irritation to do the loveliest thing that an oyster ever has a chance to do.  If there are irritations in our lives today, there is only one prescription: make a pearl.  It may have to be a pearl of patience, but, anyhow, make a pearl.  And it takes faith and love to do it."

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Isn't the pearl a lovely example of the Lord's creativity and ingenuity and an inspiring symbol of His desire for us to be overcomers in our spirits?

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"Oh what a pearl of great price is the lowest degree of the peace of God."
~John Wesley~


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