“‘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)
As I shared in part 1, I have been speaking and teaching on
the parables of Jesus found in Matthew 13:44-46.The first parable focuses on a
man who discovers a treasure in the middle of a field, recognizes the value of
that treasure, goes and sells everything he has for that treasure, and buys the
entire field he found the treasure in.
Jesus compared the Kingdom of Heaven to this treasure. He
showed how valuable the Kingdom of Heaven is and should be to those who have
found it, or should I say, Him. We also figured out that Jesus defined Himself
as the Kingdom of Heaven when He first began preaching. He made sure the people
following Him, and those who would hear His message, understood that He was and
is the most valuable treasure you can discover.
There must have been some confusion on the faces of the
people listening to Jesus so, I think, He felt He had to give another
comparison for the people to grasp.
That led Him to share the story of the merchant finding the
pearl of greatest value. The merchant must have found many different pearls
that were fine and valuable as well, otherwise he wouldn’t have had so much to
sell in order to purchase the pearl of greatest value. He was out searching for
fine pearls before he found the big one.
When I look at this parable, I think of us today. Our lives
might be full of great pearls. We might actually find some great things along
the path as we journey through life. We might find friendships, romantic
relationships, jobs, money, and much more. We have to see these things as fine
pearls. They are worth a lot and really do enhance our lives. They might even
be great for us at the time.
However, do we view these “fine pearls” as being worth more
than “the pearl of great value” (aka Jesus)? Do we see the things we have as
being more important to us than the call of Christ on our lives?
When we look at our job, do we hold firm to it or are willing
to follow God’s lead? If He were to call you to quit your job and sell your
things to go to Calcutta, India and serve lepers, could you? Would you?
If He were to ask you to end a relationship in order for you
to pursue Him on a higher level, would you? Could you? This is not referring to
divorcing someone and using this as an excuse. There is clear scripture around
that topic.
You see, we have great things, but as the merchant
discovered, sometimes when we follow closely to Jesus, He might call us to let
go of items in our lives that might be good, but are hindering us from knowing
His will.
Jesus shared in the parable that the merchant left and sold
everything for the pearl. The pearl represented the Kingdom. He said we have to
be willing to give our all for the Kingdom, it might cost us everything, but it
is worth everything in the end.
The problem is so many Christians have done the exact
opposite of the parable. Instead of selling the fine pearls for the Kingdom, we
have decided to sell off the kingdom for the fine pearls.
We stay where we are comfortable. The greatest pearl causes
us to move into a place of discomfort. Follow Jesus is not easy nor is
it safe, but in the end it is good.
He is the best treasure we can find, but we have to be willing
to let go of the things in our lives that, on the surface seem great, but in
the end are keeping us from being closer to God.
May we be willing to let go of our selves. May we be willing
to let go of the things hindering our relationship with Jesus. May we discover
the true value of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Peace and blessings friends.
QUESTION: What fine
pearls are you holding on to that need to be released for the greatest pearl to
be purchased completely?
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