Pearl of Great Price

“When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.” 

Matthew 13:46

The two most expensive pearls in the whole world were found off the island of Palawan here in the Philippines. One, the “Pearl of Allah”, sometimes called the Pearl of Lao Tze, is valued at $35 million and was found in 1934. A more recent find, about 16 years ago, is yet to be named. A fisherman found it inside a giant clam. It is huge, more than 2 feet long, and 1 foot wide and weighs 75 pounds! The fisherman hid it under his bed, his house burned down, and the pearl survived. The pearl is valued at an amazing 100 million dollars! 

Even if I sold all I had, I could not buy that pearl! And what in the world would I do with it? I cannot think of anything that I would sell everything I have, in order to possess! 

Jesus gave all He had, even His very life for something He considered His pearl of great price. Mankind. Are we worth it? He must have seen beyond the surface because when I look around me, when I read the news, and the comments on Facebook, it seems like people are getting worse every day! 

I remember going to a pearl farm in Hanoi several years ago. The guide showed us these ugly, mud encrusted shells. We had to dig into all that muck to find the pearl. I know Jesus sees the pearl in us, encased in sin and the mud of our own selfishness. He was willing to give up His glory, His power, to be crucified by the very men He came to save, just so He could ransom us from our hopeless state. We too should try to see our brothers and sisters as pearls of great price. How do we bring ourselves out of the muck? There is only one way, and Jesus is that way, the truth and the life. 

Thank You Lord! I cannot imagine what You went through to save us!