Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Matthew 13:46

Yesterday our sister from Seeking Divine Perspective, mentioned that in the Pearl of Great Price story, Jesus is the pearl, but in the previous parable about treasure in the field, we are the treasure that Christ purchased. That was such a great insight, because Jesus gave up His life for His bride, the church.

But returning to our story, let’s look into the specific business decisions that this pearl buyer needed to take. Like an Elon Musk or a Jeff Bezos, he was no shrinking violet. He showed himself willing to risk an enormous investment in what he believed, and to do it immediately! He knew that just finding the pearl of great price didn’t give him any advantage, in fact he may have worried that others would have seen it and already be in the process of trying to buy it. So, he looked over his inventory and immediately sold everything to raise the capital he needed. Jesus shows us that God’s kingdom operates on that same principal. We not only have to choose what to sell and what to buy, but we need to move with urgency. The true Gospel is a message that will cut us to the heart and make us cry out, “What must we do to be saved?!” In the pearl merchant’s case, he needed to decide if selling all his pearls to buy just one was worth the price and then he needed to act on that decision right away. He recognized this as the opportunity of a lifetime and took action, because he believed that this one special pearl would still be of even greatest value!

Finally the pearl of great price became his. He brought it home, no longer as a prize to be pursued but as a possession to be treasured. Jesus wants us to know that the kingdom of heaven can be ours by faith! Faith is our own decision. No one can force us or choose it for us. If we will just see Jesus Christ is that greatest pearl, then no other pearl will hold our hearts.

Jesus Christ is the pearl of heaven, and everything we could ever have pales in comparison to knowing him. Though God’s gift is freely given by grace and nothing that we have could purchase it, following Jesus will mean leaving everything behind just to know Him, and having Him as the treasure of our hearts means that just as we will belong to Him so for all eternity, He will belong to us!