THE PAIN OF PEARLS

Ow! A splinter in my thumb. I didn't invite it, but it came....and how it hurt—both its “residence” and the hole left behind when I dug it out with a sewing needle and tweezers. That ordinary “injury” came to mind when I learned how pearls are formed. Yes, I knew they came from oysters, but what starts the process? The answer: pain. More specifically, a foreign object (like a grain of sand) that an oyster can't expel back into the water. In defense, it secretes layers of calcium carbonate and a protein called “conchiolin” that covers over the foreign item, in time producing a pearl. It can take anywhere from six months to three years for an oyster to produce the pearl of a size commonly used in jewelry.

I'm glad I'm not an oyster! But learning that nature fact prompted me to think about my response to intrusive pain. Like hardship, loss, or an unwelcome task. Or unpleasant, demanding, “entitled” people who make life, well, painful. I also thought about Jesus' short parable about a pearl:

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. (Matthew 13:45-46)

The interpretation of this parable? Bible scholars find two ways to look at it. One is that this exceptional, valuable pearl is God's gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ. He is worth putting our “all” out for a life-changing discovery and eternal spiritual riches. Note that this parable (similar to the one that precedes it, about a man finding buried treasure in an old field, which became his by buying the field) involves recognizing the value of the “find.”

Another viewpoint suggests the merchant represents the Lord Jesus. The “pearl of great price” (notice the adjective “great”) is the church. To purchase this pearl, He gave His life on a splintered executioner's cross. Similarly to how a pearl is formed inside an oyster's shell through an irritation (like a grain of sand), the church began its formation through fatal wounding of the Savior's earthly body. Thus, the “pearl of great price” is the church.

Whichever viewpoint one takes, this truth remains: the authentic spiritual life will involve pain. That which we don't want—conflict, difficult relationships, financial distress—may be the “sand inside the shell” that causes pain. We can choose to sit at the bottom of the “sea of despair” and complain about our pain. Or we can welcome the healing “coverings” of faith in Christ to turn our pain into something of spiritual beauty.

If you're interested in the largest pearls ever found, check this website:

9 Largest Pearls Ever Found - Largest.org