Matthew 13:45-46 (New King James Version)

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, ⁴⁶ who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

You may have come across this section of Scripture in your bible study recently, and found it an interesting analogy.

You look up to a wall in your room, and wonder about how you came to Christ.

Perhaps you were diagnosed with a terminal illness, and in the darkness of your room, you begged him to save you. You said you would give him everything if He just said yes.

Or perhaps you just took another hit of a drug, and you are remembering all those times your family gave up on you. You want to give up on yourself too. But you remembered that you have heard of a Saviour before who could save you from any trouble.

And that night, you decide – it’s time.

It’s time I give my life to God.

You found your pearl of great price, and God answered you that night.

He saved your soul.

You bargained with Him and He said yes.

And that was the best bargain of your entire existence.

But today, I would love to paint a different picture.

What is the pearl of great price?

Was it everything you threw away to have Jesus?

What if we look at it from a different lens?

When humanity sinned and lost its way, God in His grace sought a way to restore His creation, because He loved us.

When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, they were banished from Eden so they couldn’t eat from the tree of life.

God didn’t want them to eat from that tree because it meant that they would be eternally separated from God.

When sin entered humanity, we fell under a curse.

But God found a way to restore us.

And that way was Jesus.

Jesus was His Son, and was made man to become the sacrifice for our sins.

When God chose not to spare His Son, He was making a great sacrifice.

His biggest one.

Jesus is the pearl that was everything the Father had.

And the Father gave the One Pearl up for us.

And when He did that, He left the One for the ninety-nine.

Ever since the day you gave everything up for Jesus, life hasn’t always been smooth sailing.

And maybe today is one of the days where you’re feeling unloved by God.

But I am here to remind you of His love for you.

To remind you what He did the day you gave your soul to Him.

You had bargained with Him for your obedience, and found out later that when He took the bargain, it didn’t benefit Him at all. He sold your freedom to you at no cost.

God made the biggest sacrifice – Jesus, the One Pearl – for you.

Take heart, because God loves you so much.

Romans 8:32 (New King James Version)

³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?