Pearls….
One of my favorite painting techniques this last spring was a painting of a pearl in a simple shell…
I inherited my grandmother’s pearl necklace, given to her by my grandfather on their 25th wedding anniversary…I have the original pink jewelry box containing a note she wrote about their history and the string of real pearls…I rarely wear them, too afraid of losing them…and their history…
The first time I saw them harvested was at the Seattle World’s fair…the pearl booth had a big tank where the divers would dive down deep, pick up an oyster, then bring it to a table, opening the shell to reveal a pearl. You got to keep the pearl for a price or have it mounted in a jewelry setting…it was fascinating to watch the variety of pearls that were harvested…
Pearls are valuable, but Job says that the price wisdom is greater than pearls…they are listed as palace adornments in Esther…adornments for people…Matthew speaks of them as so valuable that a merchant sold he could to buy a pearl…
And in the book of Revelations, John speaks of the gates being a single pearl…only God could make them that size! (Hence, “pearly gates”)…
But, the making of them is amazing….an irritant to the oyster is the beginning…the oyster then continues to cover the irritant with a fluid which hardens, adding layer upon layer of the pearly substance, making a beautiful valuable gift…
We are of value to God as well…maybe an irritant to some or but God allows things into our lives which cause irritation…by God’s grace we can grow through them, adding the fruit of of Spirit , being transformed by the Word to become a lovely “pearl”…shiny, smooth, lustrous, shaped by God…
We, too, were bought with a price…Jesus…
Thank YOU….
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
2Cor.3.18
“But where shall wisdom be found?And where is the place of understanding?
No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;the price of wisdom is above pearls.
Job.28.12,Job.28.18
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Matt.13.45-46
And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement. The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel.
The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
Rev.21.15-21
Pearls are borne of hardship…layered with a solution to make them more and more valuable…
Aren’t we the same way…with God’s healing hand…
The Change in me…
Pictures-
- one set of
my grandparents, grandma wearing her pearls on their 50th wedding anniversary… - My painting of a pearl…
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