The Pearl Is Worth the Price!
Do you have some irritation that just won’t go away? The proverbial “thorn in your side.” That someone or something that continually causes problems for you. A source of constant irritation. It is painful and distracting. It holds you back. It is harmful but not deadly. Think of the pain you get from being jabbed by the thorn of a rose. It draws blood but not to the point of incapacitating you.
The phrase “thorn in your side” appears several places in the Bible. In Numbers 33:55 we find – “But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.” Similarly – “So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you” (Judges 2:3).
The apostle Paul talked of having a thorn. In the beginning verses of 2 Corinthians 12 (in context, vv.1-10) he tells us of an affliction, the precise nature of it we do not know. Paul pleaded with God, but his “thorn” remained, with God speaking these words in response – “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (12:9). It is out of this ongoing discomfort that Paul penned these well-known words – “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (12:10).
Now let’s consider pearls. Pearls are beautiful and a much sought after gemstone. Natural pearls come from oysters and mussels. They begin due to an irritant, a thorn in its side, so to speak. They are the mollusk’s natural defense against some particle that has entered its shell. This irritant gets trapped and becomes the nucleus of the pearl. It gets coated with layer upon layer of a carbonite material (nacre) that is strong and iridescent. Over time, these layers of nacre form a pearl, often taking years to develop fully. A pearl of great value. A pearl that begins simply as an irritant to the mollusk. A pearl that comes at a great price to the mollusk, usually its death.
Pearls are beautiful and of great value. They are the result of suffering, from some irritant, from some thorn. True faith is beautiful and of great value. Jesus talks of faith as being like a pearl. He often taught using parables. In Matthew 13, Jesus paired up two parables – hidden treasure found in a field (13:44) and the finding of a pearl of great value (13:45-46). Both of these parables deal with the supreme worth of the kingdom of heaven. And both parables point to the great sacrifice required to gain such great value.
Following Jesus in this fallen and very damaged world comes at a great price. You will be pricked and prodded. There will be thorns in your side. There will be constant irritants rubbing against you. But like the mollusk, whatever the irritant is, your natural defense against it is to coat it with layers and layers of the strong and beautiful kingdom of God.
This kingdom is so valuable that no cost, no irritant, no thorn in the side, is too great of a price to pay. Do you treasure God’s kingdom more than everything else. The pearl is worth the price!
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