9-26-21
Pearls represent wisdom gained through experience. They are produced by a living organism because
of injury or irritant brought into them.
It begins by forming a layer with a nacre—mother-of-pearl around the
irritant. This is done by secretion of
a mineral as well as a protein. It is in
the chemical combination of the two we not only see the strength but the lustrous
beauty that comes from the pearl. It is
out of pain and suffering beauty is formed and can become a gem of great worth. It is only in the depths that such things of
value are formed.
As I thought about all of this and the process, I realized
how we are formed by hard irritants, pains, and sufferings of life. The beauty part can only happen if we are
chemically mixed by the grace and blood of Jesus. It is his blood that produces the lustrous beauty
from what we have experienced. Just like
with the pearl it is a process that develops over a period of time.
I continued in my thoughts about how the value of the pearl
is only really appreciated by the one who sees and values its worth. Some pearls are found in groups, some found
single and alone within its shell source.
Some are of such different colors, even rarity such a black pearl. The black pearl is only found and developed
by a special type of oyster and only in a certain part of the world. Its rarity is said to hold greater value. Imagine how different it may look to find a black
pearl among pure white or iridescent pearls.
One might without knowledge think it doesn’t fit in or could be of
lesser value because it is so different from the rest.
I stopped to ponder for a moment and found myself asking
this question. Do we see the value in
the pearl? Do we see value in the people
we don’t know, but especially the ones we do know? What about the ones that are much different
than us? Do they hold greater value,
less value, or no value at all? Do we
hold any value to the clam, oyster, etc. that went through much pain and
suffering to form the pearl? What value
do we give or what worth do we find?
Once a pearl is harvested or collected the clam, oyster,
etc. must die for the pearl to be extracted.
Much like things of our past must die for our value to become of worth. For the pearl once extracted to show its
worth, it must be cleaned up and polished with great care. Its care must also be maintained and valued to
hold its value. It must be protected
from the abrasives and corrosive materials of life outside of the shell.
Some may see the outside of a shell of someone and see they
may hold something much greater within, but do they really see the value of the
gem hidden deep inside? Do they help get
the gem extracted, polish it, and nurture it with the actions of Christ? If we are not careful our actions can be
abrasive or corrosive to pearls of great value.
If we are not careful, in how we treat others, the value of a pearl
extracted can become a pearl of little worth.
If we truly see the value of others, how are we treating and caring for
them or each other or even ourselves? Do
we see ourselves as pearls?
Matthew 7:6 says, “Don’t waste what is holy on people who
are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to
the pigs! They will trample the pearls,
then turn and attack you.” If we see God’s
treasure in others despite them being different, we must be careful by our actions
with others we are not casting them to the pigs to be trampled and
devalued.
Just like there is a process and time involved for a pearl
to be formed, extracted, polished, etc. it is the same for people. There is a process to truly exposing and
discovering the beauty and value of a pearl.
We must realize this same concept with people. They may be the different black pearl in a
bowl full of white pearls, but they still hold a value that sometimes just needs time to shine and be discovered, not buried, or thrown to the pigs. We may truly find how valuable they are,
especially in the eyes of Christ if we treat them with care, compassion, empathy,
kindness, and love to name a few. We may
need to let them rest in a bowl and let the glisten of the sun shining through
an open window, expose some depth of their beauty. We may need to pull them out and sit and hold
them in our hand, and carefully wipe away the words, and things of life that
could cause them damage. We are all
pearls waiting to be discovered. We have
already been discovered by our Father.
Do we value those he has placed in our lives, see and nurture value, or
do we carelessly toss them in a jar and put them on a shelf maybe to be forgotten? Or do we carelessly throw them like scraps
to the pigs because they don’t shine and fit into our circle?
There is so much division and lost and dying relationships
that have occurred over this past year.
Many of us may have either thrown pearls (relationships, words, actions,
etc.) to the pigs, or we have failed to see the value and polish and hold what
we have been given.
Matthew 14:45-46 says “Again the Kingdom of Heaven is like a
merchant on the lookout for choice pearls.
When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned
and bought it!” I think these verses say
so much that if we value what we see in others, that we must sell some of our
time, idols, etc. to truly appreciate and cultivate the value of what we can
hold in our hands.
