The pearl of great price

A few months ago, I received an email from a sister who talked about the formation of a pearl, and that reflection made me stop and much of what I read there was about processes that one also goes through in life. And today I have felt like taking that reflection and putting it in context as a preaching to share it here with you.

And I titled it as the pearl of great price, I know that many of you will recognize it because it is a parable in the Bible, but I ask you, I don't know how many of you will know, how is the process of forming a pearl? Those who are scientists, those who like science, in very simple words I can explain this to you. A pearl the way it develops, you know that the pearl is inside an oyster, and that oyster has to be fed every time the shell is opened, what you see inside is what they usually eat, which is a mollusc , the little animal that is in there, when that mollusk opens, obviously what it is looking for is its food and many times when it opens many unwanted agents enter its shell, it can be a grain of earth, it can be a little piece of coral, or It could be some other animal's waste, something like that.

The point is that when that organism enters that oyster and falls close to this mollusk, it causes a sense of irritation in the clam, in the oyster, and that irritation, that pain that the defense system of that oyster produces, is that begins to release a substance known as mother-of-pearl, the mother-of-pearl is like a crystalline substance that envelops that organism that got inside the pearl and forms it, giving different layers to cover it and that it does not cause pain or discomfort to that oyster. Now this process is very interesting, I don't know how many of you know, but it is a process that takes about eight to ten years on average for that grain of sand to end up forming one of the pearls that you have on your necklace or on your screens. How many have pearls, do you have pearls, do you have them on now? Because believe me this is going to do something to you. Very good, those pearls are big, pay attention, those have been cooking for more than ten years.

The most interesting thing for me, my brothers, is that this formation process that ends in something beautiful, precious, and to a certain extent covetable, arose from something that irritated, from something undesirable, from something not sought after, from something foreign to the system of that oyster, something beautiful and precious arose from something ugly, irritable and undesirable. Let's go to the Bible, Matthew chapter 13, some very simple verses that I want to share with you. Matthew chapter 13 verses 45 and 46, this is Jesus speaking in one of his moments where he was addressing the audience through parables, and after a series of messages that he was using to talk about the kingdom of God, about Suddenly he came to this segment where he says: "The Kingdom of Heaven is similar to a merchant looking for good pearls, who, having found a precious pearl, went and sold all that he had and bought it." Look how interesting, this merchant was looking for a unique pearl, of great value, there was no other that compared to that pearl. And when he found it, he got rid of all his things, he sold it for having enough finances to go and buy that pearl, because he knew that that pearl was going to change the rest of his life.

Now, this parable has an interpretation that I would say is like a classic interpretation, we almost always talk about, the meaning of this pearl Jesus is saying that it is the Kingdom of God, or the person of Jesus, the pearl in this parable means Jesus, He is that pearl. The merchant is us, who walks through the world that of great value that is going to change our luck, so to speak. There is an aspect of sacrifice in the fact that you have to give everything to obtain that treasure, and just as one sacrifices there is also a sense of reward, because when you have it you become part of the Kingdom of God, you become part of the person of Jesus, amen?

Jesus is the pearl of great price, how many have read that in Discipleship 1, discipleship 1, 2, 3, on 3, ok I got confused, how many have seen that in Discipleship 3, the pearl of great price? What this means my brothers is to recognize that just like that description of how a pearl is formed, Jesus also suffered his pain, his suffering, an irritable process, unwanted for giving us the most beautiful life that no other person can offer us. , eternal life, reconciliation with the Father. That is why Jesus, that pearl so desirable, covetable among all men, the only one who can really change our existence, who can change our direction. That is a classic interpretation of that word, but today I dared to give this parable a twist, and the way I am approaching this story now is as follows: the pearl is you and me, you and me we are that pearl, and the merchant is Jesus, a merchant who is looking for something of great value, and let me pause here for a moment.

Because this is where I see that this message can impart something to each one of us, if you consider yourself a pearl, that means that behind that pearl or in the essence of that pearl there are experiences of pain, there are experiences of irritability, there are experiences unwanted, that one has lived, that one has had to expose oneself to them, either by accident, that the other of our lives seeking to satisfy their hunger opens up and oops, that internal organism is contaminated, or as it may also be that there is pearl farms, and the pearl farms is something more intentional because it is no longer accidental but rather intentional.

Where the clams take them and insert into the clams not just a grain of sand, they insert other things so that the pearl develops to different sizes and different colors. Natural pearls versus cultivated pearls, some the process occurs by accident, in the other the process was intentional, someone intentionally aggressively opened an oyster, inserted something in it and closed it. Another scientific term, a manipulated process, sign up for that one we'll talk about tomorrow.

But look my brothers, all this imparts a sense of light, because when we see our lives, all the experiences that we have had, we have been exposed to a series of things, whether by accident or by intention of others, that Somehow or another they remove a balance within us, and produce a series of things that cause pain, irritability, things with which one does not feel comfortable, things that perhaps one does not even dare to mention because of a sense of shame that exists. inside and one prefers to close that and not let anyone see it or touch it. And we started to drop mother-of-pearl, and we started to develop layer after layer, layer after layer to hide that.

And that might sound as if we are intentionally keeping those experiences of pain, but the beauty of all this is that that merchant with a capital C knows what is inside that pearl, knows the things to which that pearl has been exposed, either by accident or by an intentional, manipulated process. The merchant knows what is there, because he knows when he is finding an oyster, naturally, that he dives into the water himself and finds it, or that he goes directly to a farm and buys it, but he knows that this is a totally different process. , he knows the value in each of them.

It's like a person who knows about diamonds. When I went to buy mine and my wife's wedding ring, when they start talking to me about all the types of carats that the diamond has, the different cuts it has, the different angles that are given to reflect as much or not as much light , and the carbon residue inside when I don't see anything unless I have that magnifying glass on my eye to see the happy traces of carbon inside, that person who knows so much about diamonds, also knows the process that diamond passed to reach a ring. It is also a painful process, a process like grabbing a coal stone and hitting it with a hammer until that diamond comes out and once it comes out it does not shine, that diamond is opaque, full of dirt, dirt, and you have to polish it in different angles, giving it shape, little by little, until a diamond that small ends up with a stone that big. They take two or three out of such a large stone and give it the shape it has there on your ring.

All this process my brothers implies a process of pain, of things that are marked, of that element, of that object, and God sees a value in it and says it is worth giving my life for it, that is what the merchant, when he finds that pearl he says I can sacrifice my very life for that pearl, and when the Lord sees you, he sees me, when He sees your experiences of pain, your experiences of failure, when you have had to be frustrated by X, Y, Z, He sees that, he sees it, He realizes that those experiences that are undesirable, shameful for you, that you don't even want to talk about with anyone because they bring back a series of memories that you can't even conceive of anymore in your mind, those are the experiences that the Lord sees and says that is worth a lot to me, because that is where my son is coming from, my daughter who has great value, whether by accident or intentional, that is where I am taking out a pearl of great value, and it is a pearl that I want to be part of my Kingdom, and or I do not want that pearl to be in a showcase, I want that pearl to be adorning my Kingdom.

And that is what the Lord shares with each one of us. This parable can be seen both ways, and we have to see it both ways. On the one hand, we are in search of something of great value. Look at this, as merchants we are looking for something that can bring satisfaction to our lives, we are looking to find something that can change our luck. Many find that in different things, some find that in being able to have a good, solid family, and their pearl is their family, others find it in a job, others find it in a good bottle of alcohol, others find it in a good woman. , a good man, others find him in the money they may have in their bank account.

You know what? There are some who find it in the Church, and make the Church their world, without necessarily paying attention to the fact that behind the Church there is a head who is Christ, they put the Church on a pedestal instead of putting it on a pedestal the head of the Church. When we find the Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom of God is not necessarily a system of government, the Kingdom of God is a thirst for principles, for values, it is a standard that was exemplified in the person of Jesus and that Jesus gave us a model for us to live in a model of what the Kingdom of God is.

When we live as the Lord commands, as He asks of us, in love supporting one another, living in unity, tolerating one another, when we manage to live like this we can say the Kingdom of God is within us, because we are living according to to those principles and that gives value to your life, that gives value to the person next to you, together we make a value much greater than what the stock market can do in New York. Now, but when that message is transmitted to your personal life, rest assured that Jesus is looking at the value of that pearl, the essence that is locked inside all those layers of mother-of-pearl, He is looking inside. I imagine that some of you are saying right now, well I am a very big pearl, because look, I have had to drop layer after layer after layer of mother-of-pearl and nacre, I keep dropping layers and layers. Look, the bigger your pearl is, the greater value you are going to have before the Lord, receive that for your life.

Why do I say that my brothers? We have a Lord who takes pity on us, we have a Lord who knows what we are, we have a Lord who knows very well the leg by which we limp. But that doesn't prevent Him from being able to come and meet you and say, hah, it was worth giving my life for this person, it was worth making a sacrifice for this pearl, which perhaps other people have despised but for me it is a pearl of great value, that is what the Lord does with you, that is how He treats you, that is how He treats us.

So tonight my brothers receive this message, you are a pearl of great value. Life experiences may have or have forced you to develop many layers to protect what irritates your life, but after all, those things that irritate lead you to become a person of great value to God. I know that these words can be easy to say but difficult to believe at times, I know that many times that pain, that irritability that we are feeling is so palpable, it is so skin-deep that many times it does not let us see that value that we can find. behind all these things, but I want to pray tonight my brothers, I do not want to leave tonight without praying for this.

I want to pray for each one of us who often find it difficult to see the value of what is inside. I want to pray for those of us who often allow irritability to dominate over the fact that God is looking at us with eyes of grace, mercy, sense, purpose, and is saying you are worth to me, no matter how small. No matter how big your pearl may be, you are worth it to me. I want to put you in a place where you can see the value that you have, I want to use you to decorate one of the crowns of the Church, I want to use you to decorate one of the crowns that will be on the head of a brother, of a sister of yours when I come to the Kingdom.

I want to use you so that by exposing yourself to the life of a person you can bring a smile to that person's face, and that your pain serves as comfort to the pain of another person, that what irritated you God can use to soften the irritability of others, what others caused in you without your wanting it, that God can use those experiences to use you as a strength for other people around you, other people who perhaps suffered the same violence as you, and that they are locked up covering that pain, and they do not know that when this pain is in the hands of the Lord, that pain can become a tool of great power. If these words echo in your heart today I invite you to stand up and that we can pray in light of these words.

Lord Jesus we direct our hearts and minds to you at this moment Lord. First of all thank you for your Word, Your Word is life, Your Word is light, Your Word is truth. And when we expose ourselves to it, Lord, there are things that happen inside us, and tonight, God, this word that we have shared in some way will have caused us to laugh, but at the same time it produces a profound effect of reflection on us, being able to see our experiences of the past, not in a negative way, but to recognize that all these things work, Lord, for the fulfillment of Your purposes in our midst. Through Your eyes alone, we can say that it has not been in vain, having been exposed to the things we have been exposed to, or done the things we did, or endured the things they did to us, that perhaps at the moment they caused your discomfort, caused your pain, but it is good to know that only in you all things operate. Only in you can we say thank you, Lord, because what is to come is much better than the things that I have experienced, Lord. We can, Lord, let You take us into your hands and let You determine the value of our lives, and not any person around us. So Jesus, tonight I ask for each one of my brothers and sisters, who are processing this reflection that they have received, in the best way that You know as Lord, I ask that this word reach that heart, that it fulfill the purpose with which You are sending it, and that each one of our hearts can be opened God to the treatment that You want to do in our lives, that our eyes can be opened to the reality that You want and not the one that we see, and that our mind gives the value to our life that You give it.

You are that merchant, Lord, who gave his life, sacrificed everything to buy us, we who thought we were just another oyster thrown into the sea or in a basket, You came close and gave us courage, help us to always see ourselves in the light of this truth that You are the one who gives us courage, that You are the one who affirms us and that you allow us to often go through circumstances that will strengthen us even more, to achieve the things that You have for us. Fulfill Your purpose in our lives Jesus, it is my wish, it is my prayer, it is my hope, that as we leave here today Lord, that this Word will help us open our eyes to the reality that You see in us, to the value that You see in us, and that we can be content with the fact that You make us part of Your Kingdom, and also that by finding you that pearl of great value, that we can also achieve that unique identity through you and Your person.

Give us Your blessing tonight, as we leave here and return to our homes, or wherever the next destination we go tonight is going to be, Father, may this Word continue to echo in our hearts, and may this Word continue to echo in our hearts above all things Your love abounds in our life, we thank you for your Son Jesus, amen and amen. God bless you my brothers, sisters, say hello to each other, we will see each other God willing at the Omar Salas concert so blessings.