“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” (Matthew 13:45-46 ESV).

Jesus used parables throughout His ministry to teach His disciples. He spoke about things they could understand: seed, merchants, treasures, a fish net, a lost coin, a lost sheep, a lost son, and many other ordinary things.

Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a man searching for that one pearl of great price. It would be the genuine thing, not an imitation. That is the way He wanted people to think of acquiring salvation. We must seek diligently for the real thing. We must weigh the quality of what we find.

It was common for one who sought to buy pearls to look for and acquire the most valuable pearls. The merchant would sell everything he had just to possess one valuable pearl.

A true Christian is a spiritual merchant. The Christian should seek the very best quality in the choices he or she makes. That would include the type of work he or she does, his or her entertainment, his or her language, his or her choice of a mate.

I want us to think about this from the standpoint of choosing a mate. This is the second most important decision a person will ever make. The first is the decision to become a Christian.

As women, we have a great opportunity to teach our children this valuable lesson about choices. Choosing a mate should be for life. I know that is not the popular feeling in our society today, but is has been God’s plan from the beginning of time.

Paul told the Ephesians, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). Paul describes love in I Corinthians 13. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

Those definitions of love speak to the search for the right life partner. That kind of mate is truly a pearl of great price. That kind of mate will surely help one get the ultimate prize of a home in heaven.

Unfortunately, many miss the pearl of great price because they fall for “fake pearls.” Fake pearls are those that pretend to be the real deal; but, in reality, they are phony.

The devil has done to us exactly what he did to Eve in the Garden of Eden. When Eve told the serpent that if they ate of the tree in the middle of the garden they would die, the serpent said, “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4).

He lied, and he lies to us every day. He has convinced us that alcohol, drugs, immodesty, immorality, and all of the other sins listed in Galatians 5:19-21 are not going to cause us eternal punishment.

But look at what Paul tells us at the end of this list. He said, “…those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (verse 21). Did you get that? These things are not pearls of great price but rather “fake pearls.”

There is a precious story about a little girl that purchased a strand of fake pearls for $1.95, money she had to earn. She loved the pearls so much that when her daddy asked her to give them up, she refused. Night after night he asked her if she loved him and then asked her to give him her pearls. Each night she refused. One night she did give them to her daddy, and he replaced the cheap pearls with a strand of genuine pearls.

That is what God does through His Word. He asks us to be obedient to Him, to love Him, and trust Him. He provides us with everything we need to make the right choices and to ultimately find the pearl of great price, heaven. He has asked us to give up the fake pearls in our lives and choose the very best.

Just like the merchant had to sell all he had to obtain the pearl, we will have to give up the fake pearls, the things the world thinks are valuable, in order to obtain the ultimate prize, the kingdom of heaven.

Sandra Oliver

(The story of the pearls can be found at cs.cmu.edu/wkw/inspiration/pearlnecklace.txt)