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We thank you for taking the time to visit our blog.

My husband and I are a young, growing, Christian, military family. My husband is a Captain in The United States Marine Corps. I am a former Elementary school teacher. We are first time parents to a beautiful little two year old boy, with twin boys on the way! I am a stay at home Marine wife, who loves to bake, cook, sew and craft! I enjoy being a Domestic Engineer. The purpose of this blog is to document the story of our life and adventures as they take place.


We are honored to be serving our country and ask for prayer in our upcoming adventures. We have been blessed tremendously, and thank God everyday for all he has given us!

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Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Teach me Tuesday; We Are His Pearls...


All About Pearls


I love it when women wear pearls. It is so classy and sophisticated! I enjoy the look of a beautiful string of pearls around my neck, or a dainty pair of pearl stud earrings.


Last Christmas, my Mother gave me my Grandmother's ( my Mom's Mom) gorgeous pearl necklace. I treasure that necklace... not only because it belonged to my Grandmother, but because of it's beauty and all that it symbolizes.


Here I am at a Tea last spring wearing my Grandma Vera's pearl necklace.


A few years before this, my husband's sweet grandpa and grandma gave me a beautiful gold, pearl and diamond necklace as a college graduation gift.


At dinner with friends wearing my pearls from Rich's grandparents.


As you can tell I'm just wild about pearls!



The Bible mentions pearls many times. While researching how pearls were used in the Bible, I found out that pearls are mentioned 9 different times in the Bible.


The first mention is in Job 28:18 “Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned: And the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls."

Second: “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” Matthew 7:6

Third: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls." Matthew 13:45

Fourth: “and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it." Matthew 13:46

Fifth: “Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments;” 1 Timothy 2:9

Sixth: “And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality,” Revelations 17: 4

Seventh: “cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble,” Revelations 18: 12

Eight: “Saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothe in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls;..” Revelations: 18: 16

Ninth: “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.” Revelations 21:21

While writing this post, I became even more interested in the process in which an oyster produces a pearl. Here is what I found out; "­The formation of a natural pearl begins when a foreign substance slips into the oyster between the mantle and the shell, which irritate­s the mantle. It's kind of like the oyster getting a splinter. The oyster's natural reaction is to cover up that irritant to protect itself. The man­tle covers the irritant with layers of the same nacre substance that is used to create the shell. This eventually forms a pearl."


I also came across this poem;


The PEARL


As a jeweler by trade I'm always interested in the gemstones listed in the scriptures. As I was meditating on 'Matt 13' and the parable of the 'pearl of great price' I began to think of our Lord. Why did He come to claim a pearl? Why not a diamond?

'Matt 13:45' "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls." 'Matt 13:46' "When he found one pearl of great price, went and sold all he had and bought it."

In the parable of the merchant, we see that he sold all he had and bought the single pearl. It speaks to us of the tremendous price the Lord paid for our redemption. The God of glory, the King of Kings & Lord of Lords left the splendor of Heaven to claim a pearl, and gained the pearl through paying the price that was far more than any here could pay.

As a jeweler I would question the choice the Lord made choosing to leave the Father's side for a pearl instead of what we would think of as having greater significance, the girl's best friend, the much coveted diamond. You probably know that the diamond is graded in 'value' according to the 4 C's: Cut, Color, Clarity & Carat-weight. The answer to my pondering was right there! The diamond receives a substantial portion of it's value from the way a person cuts it. The work of man's hand! The only natural gemstone that has more value when it is found than when men finish with it is the PEARL. Like the pearl, men can add nothing to the value of out salvation, through Jesus Christ.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are we saved through faith; and that not of yourselves -- it is the gift of God -- 'Eph 2:9' Not of works, lest anyone should boast.

The pearl is formed when a foreign object somehow enters the inside of the oyster, and instead of ejecting the object or irritant out, as most humans would try to do, the object is covered by the oyster with layer upon layer of a substance secreted from it's own body. The object that came into the life of the oyster as an irritant, instead of being cast out is turned into something lovely within the oyster. "We are all an irritant (through our sin) to God, but he accepts us, in spite of our sin. He covers our sin and brings us into His Holy kingdom.

Think about other details of the pearl. The longer the pearl stays in the oyster the more valuable it becomes. Isn't that the character of our God? When He found us we were nothing more than an irritation to Him, but by God's grace, we can be of some value to His Kingdom! God is using our time now to conform us into a beautiful image of His dear Son. The pearl is formed in a Living Object! No dead rock is the pearl, it comes from life. The very life of the oyster is given to the pearl. What a blessed God that He gives us this chance. In Him we enjoy eternal life, and much more! Our God has communicated with us in pictures so we comprehend the richness of His Love. The Pearl to me is just one more analogy of how God can take an irritant (sin) and turn it into something beautiful -- if we let Him.

The true value of the pearl is not seen from the outside. To the world around it the pearl is just another barnacle covered nasty looking shell. Oh, friends the Lord looks upon the heart. Are you doing the same, to others? Only the Lord sees us as complete in Him. If the world knew what we will look like when our Bridegroom comes for us, they would surely want to come!

To see the true beauty of the pearl the oyster must die. The oyster is ripped open with a knife in the side, before the true treasure is revealed. The analogy in the Pearl here is like Christ's death, so that all who trust in Him will be able to see and be with Him in His beautiful Kingdom, for eternity. It's His desire that all should accept Christ as their personal savior, so that they too shall receive their salvation, and live with Him for eternity. Thanks be to God for this wonderful gift. Have you accepted Christ as your Savior?

The PEARL also reminds me:
God desires to fellowship with us -- irritants (sin) and all.

God has communicated with us through the scriptures, using all sorts of metaphors -- the beautiful pearl is one more.

All of God's creation: every bird, pretty flower, panoramic mountain vista, and even oysters, were given by God to show us things concerning Himself. God's final Word to us is His dear Son, and all that is written of Him; which we should read about regularly in our Bibles -- the book of Pearls.

God can turn irritants (sin) into pearls -- if you let Him.

Addendum -- John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

So a pearl is a foreign substance covered with layers of nacre. Most pearls that we see in jewelry stores are nicely rounded objects, which are the most valuable ones. Not all pearls turn out so well. Some pearls form in an uneven shape -- these are called baroque pearls. Pearls, as you've probably noticed, come in a variety of various colors, including white, black, gray, red, blue and green. Most pearls can be found all over the world, but black pearls are indigenous to the South Pacific."


My Thoughts:
Wow!! So, as Christians we are not perfect, we are all born with a sinful nature. Jesus is like the oyster and we(mankind) are like the irritant that gets stuck in the oyster, causing it to become irritated. As humans, we are imperfect and sinful by nature. This disturbs the Lord. When we accept Him into our life, he takes us in, cradles us, never leaves us. Through Jesus we are refined( just like the irritant) and turned into something magnificent and beautiful (just like the pearl). Without the Lord we would just be a speck of dust, an annoyance, an irritant floating about with no direction. Once we find Jesus and are captivated by his word we become just who He always wanted us to be. We are all created in the image of God.

I know I will never again look at a pearl in the same way :)

Blessings,
Sarah

2 comments:

E. said...

My favourite poem about oysters/pearls...

The Oyster
By unknown

There once was an oyster
Whose story I tell,
Who found that some sand
Had got into his shell.
It was only a grain,
But it gave him great pain.
For oysters have feelings
Although they’re so plain.

Now, did he berate
The harsh working of fate
That had brought him
To such a deplorable state?
Did he curse at the government,
Cry for election,
And claim that the sea should
Have given him protection?

No – he sad to himself
As he lay on a shell,
Since I cannot remove it,
I shall try to improve it.
Now the years have rolled around,
As the years always do,
And he came to his ultimate
Destiny – stew.

And the small grain of sand
That had bothered him so
Was a beautiful pearl
All richly aglow.
Now the tale has a moral;
For isn’t it grand
What an oyster can do
With a morsel of sand?

What couldn’t we do
If we’d only begin
With some of the things
That get under our skin.

Making The Most of Each Day said...

Thank you E! Great story.
Sarah, I wish to become a pink lustery pearl. I want to get all my pearls together and take better care of them. I remember my mother telling me to always keep them in white satin containers to keep their luster.
Great info gals!!

Baby Slings at Nurtured Family