Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Pearl of Great Price

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had, and bought it.” (Matthew 13:45-46 CSB)

A couple of aspects about this parable are rather striking. One is the extreme nature of what is said: a priceless pearl, and a merchant who sold everything else to buy it. Obviously, the pearl was not actually priceless since it could be bought. And in the real world, no businessman would sell everything he had to buy one pearl. But also very obviously, neither of those items is the point anyway. Clearly, one of the points being made is this matter of the extreme of doing whatever it takes, regardless, to purchase that pearl.

A second aspect of the parable that is striking is the matter of value; not so much the value of the pearl itself, but the values of the merchant who was willing to do anything necessary to acquire the pearl. What was it about pearls that so fascinated him? Why was he willing to do anything necessary to buy it? The only possible answer is that within him there was a “value” that drove his decisions. For this man, the value of the pearl was not its price. It was “priceless” but not because of its price, in other words. What made it priceless was what it represented to the merchant. Its value was more intrinsic in nature. It represented the perfection of beauty, since there was nothing else in the world that could compare with it. It represented completeness or wholeness, since this is the one he had been seeking all his life, the one that represented the treasure of all treasures.

Parables were probably not intended to be analyzed to this level, but they do sometimes lend themselves to it because of the richness of meaning. Mainly, parables were intended to teach one main point, and the point of this one is that the kingdom of heaven is the absolute greatest value available to those who are seeking truth, and those who are seeking God will find their completeness and wholeness when they enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Lord, Thank You for allowing us to enter into Your kingdom by faith. Help us in this day to share the truth of Your kingdom with others. Amen.

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