Pearl of Simplicity

Contentment is all well and good when you have a place to lay your head in safety, something to eat, things to delight in. But when the going gets super easy, we may start to depend on ourselves, the job that pays better than we ever imagined, the person who makes us their whole world. And when the going gets tough we get distracted, by the hunger and the pain.

The One: Jesus

We easily lose sight of the one who provides it all. We are not at all like the merchant, seeking the best deal in all the land. The merchant who finds a priceless pearl, sells all he has to own the one thing. Because that is what it comes down to: we have ONE thing that has value above all other. ONE person who is above all else. ONE Jesus.

The Pearl’s Worth

The verses in Matthew 13 that talk of the merchant and the pearl, verses 45-46, say, ‘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.’ Looking below the surface, we may find a merchant of some standing, a bit of wealth. He likely had a family, children to look after, employees to consider. Yet the pearl was worth more than all these. The pearl is worth more than what our family, friends, colleagues, employees may say or think. The pearl is worth more than the headache and heartache of no job, letting employees go, moving family and house. The pearl of Jesus Christ provides us with all, and He is of great worth.

Job lost everything. Yet, after having lost it all, it was his faith and steadfastness in abundance and in dearth, that lead to God renewing his life. All that he had was returned twice as much. ‘God first’ was worth all of it, as Job himself attests to. We need only cling to Jesus to find this simplicity of such great worth.