A parable shared by Jesus:
By Phyllis Ducey of pfdoriginalartworks
The start of the new year took me into a thoughtful journey. I examined myself honestly in the mirror and was aghast to see the quantity of poundage that I added in the past several years. Which, by the way, I have carefully hidden having learned the art of wearing clothes well and not wearing my glasses when looking at my full body in the mirror. I found a few new wrinkles and I realized I have to color my hair a little more often now. Externally, I gathered I have some things to change in my life.
Internally, I felt the need to do the same type of examination. So where is my mirror for that? I began checking off all the things I do that should count, like the fact I read my Bible daily, pray, go to church on Sundays, tithe and… you know, all the things that Christians are suppose to do. I do them. So I decided I must look better by that mirror than the one in my bedroom. Or did I need to wear my glasses again?
In the parable of the merchant who finds the pearl of great value, the merchant sells everything he has in order to buy that pearl. That merchant knew what was the most valuable to him. He was so passionate about it; he did whatever it took to get it. Jesus compares that pearl to the kingdom of heaven.
Hmmm, I had to ask myself am I really that passionate about my God? About His kingdom? Looking closer at myself by God’s mirror…His words in the Bible, I have some changes to make. I don’t think God is calling me to sell my house and property but I do think He is calling me to offer myself more fully to Him. To release even those deepest parts of me that I cling to so that I may be as passionate about Him as the merchant was for the pearl. That will be one of my new year’s goals and my focus of prayer… release and passion. To open the dark caverns within. So that I may be filled with God’s grace deepening my passion for Him.
I think I am going to start wearing my pearls more often as a reminder to me of this parable. You may be interested in doing something similar. Below are some of our incredible artist’s shops that carry pearls.
Devotion from Myshininglights
Black teardrop pearl necklace set from SueRunyonDesigns
Sterling silver champagne necklace from cksilver
Freshwater pearl rosary from Prayers4Theresa
Bronze pearl double helix ring from Holmescraft
By Phyllis Ducey of pfdoriginalartworks
Comments (7)
Phyllis, thanks so much for another great post that makes us think!
When I was involved with a womens Bible study group that was trying to memorize scripture verses each week, I gave everyone a pearl for each verse they memorized and then made them earrings from them as a reminder. It was a fun way to encourage them.
Thanks for featuring my black pearl necklace set too :-)
Lovely post! We would all do well to take that internal inventory.
Beautiful post, Phyllis. Jesus is our pearl of great price, right? I just love that illustration and even more since I discovered that the meaning of my name is:pearl. I am His pearl of great price (which He paid to purchase me)
All the jewelry is so beautiful too. They photograph so well. You can see the deep milky glow.
This is such a lovely article! And I am so honored to have the photo of my jewelry included in this. I am also so thrilled to now know about the blog for the CAST team! It is comforting to be surrounded by the support that this offers.
Your post is lovely, Phyllis. Our message at Church today was on Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore brethren, (and sisters) by the mercies of God,that you present your bodies a living sacrifice,holy, acceptable unto God,which is your reasonable service." We can do this not just as a duty, but because of His great love, mercy,and grace.
I have a beautiful set of pearls I've never worn, a gift that's not my style. After reading this I think I'm going to re-work them into something I WILL wear, as a reminder of this parable.
What a beautiful reminder from God's word! Thanks for including my pearl necklace. All of the pictures/shops you featured are so lovely!