The Transforming Power of Pearls
I know a couple of things about oysters. They make pearls and they are edible, but you kind of have to acquire a taste for them. I have only eaten oysters once. My son and his brother-in-law invited me to an oyster bar in Texas. They taught me how to dip it in sauce (butter, I think), separate the meat from the shell, and slide it down my throat. Not bad. I ended up eating my share of four or five. But have no great desire to repeat the experience, though it wasn’t as “icky” as I had imagined.
Oysters have another “icky” function – how pearls are made. Even cultured pearls come about by the same process, though under controlled circumstances. A pearl starts as an irritant inside the shell of the mollusk. It may be as small as a piece of sand. Think about how you feel when you get something caught in your teeth when even floss doesn’t seem to work. Maybe it is that irritating to the poor oyster. So, he wraps the foreign object in a milky coating that hardens. And keeps applying more and more layers so that it is round and smooth and no longer irritating. Seems like the growing pearl would be irritating, but I suppose that the smoothness compensates and makes the intrusion tolerable. It is amazing how God has designed His creation with ways to care for troubles that intrude.
God has provided for us to care for intruding troubles as well. We have been tested a lot in that area this past year. Not just COVID, but all of the other irritants and troubles that have affected our lives. And COVID, with the added worries and restrictions, has just made things harder. O that we could just wish trouble away or at least capture it and coat it with pearl creating stuff! But, we actually have better!
Jesus predicted that His followers would have trouble. But He also said: “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world" John 16:33 (NASB).
We still have to live in an imperfect world with sin and disease all around (all of the time). God allows bad things to happen so that His purposes may be accomplished. Our motive and goal should be to honor God with our thoughts, actions, and speech. The best way to stay centered is to bathe our minds, souls, and hearts with the Word of God. Aren’t you glad that we live in an era where we can saturate our lives with good Christian music, preaching, books, novels, art, and even have the Bible read to us by that little person on our phone?
Don’t be discouraged! Jesus said hard times would come and even that His followers could expect persecution, but that He would be with us, and the Holy Spirit would be in us to teach, guide, and strengthen us. Difficult times do not change our purpose and goal: to love God and love others (especially so that they will also love God):
“‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31 (NASB)
We may not produce pearls in the tangible sense, but we are able to see irritants transformed into blessings when we remember that “all things work together for good.” Our example in personal hard times might just be “the thing” that folks in our church or community need to see to help them also transcend their troubles. God’s Word is transforming. Let’s make more pearls, while we are making disciples!
Pastor Gregory Howell
Community Grace Brethren Church, Goldendale, Wash.
As a Christian and Pastor, there have been times when someone within the church is the irritant. They do not respond to the Word of God in their own life, always pointing to others as the offender, including me. But God is the One making pearls out of our sin-filled lives. It is such an incredible blessing to watch God at work. I could not have been given a more precious work on earth than to preach/teach/live the gospel of Jesus Christ and watch God do the greater work of saving souls for all eternity. The true believer is being transformed into a more blessed beauty than the pearl…the image of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Pastor Dale