A new blog - a first post. What better way to start this journey than by expaining where the name "pearly living" comes from and what is means.
The thought and meaning behind "pearly living" comes from a passage in the Bible,
Matthew 13:44-45. It reads, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 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'".
This is one of my favorite Bible passages and one that my daughter is named after, her middle name is "Pearl". I'd love to help break it down for you. The first part of this passage is describing heaven. It describes heaven as a treasure hidden in a field. While I may not go on actual treasure hunts often..or ever, I do love Nordstrom Rack and shopping there is like a treasure hunt. I always find myself browsing through the racks of clothes looking for some sort of hidden treasure, something that I would never be able to afford at full price but is on a super sale. Once, I was on the hunt for a heavy winter jacket and found one at Nordstrom Rack that was 90% off! It was originally $400 and I got it for $40! Now that's what I call a hidden treasure! And that's how the kingdom of heaven is described here.
Picture yourself as this person, cutting across a random field and stumbling across some sort of treasure. What do you do? Or in my more present day example, picture yourself browsing through Nordstrom Rack and stumbling across a designer dress at 75% off with only one left and it's in your size? You buy it, right?! And if for some reason you can't buy it right at that moment, you hide it! You take that last size small Madewell top or whatever it may be and you tuck it into the men's section or kids's section somewhere no one will find it, somewhere it will stay safe until you come back for it. How do I know this? Because I am definitely guilty of it, and because I worked retail for too many years and found too many things hidden to know I am not the only one. All that to say, that is what the man did in this passage. He found the kingdom of heaven like a treasure hidden in a field and covered it up because it wasn't rightfully his yet. He needed to get things in order first. In order for it to be his, he has to buy the field first. So, he sells all that he has to buy the field.
Let's pause here for a second, he sells ALL that he has to buy the field that obtains this treasure he found! Why would someone in their right mind do this, sell all that they have for something? It sound crazy right?! The only way it makes sense is if that one thing is more valuable than everything else you sold combined. In other words, it's worth it when you can get a better version of everything you sold out of it - you're selling the Old Navy dress but replacing it with the Anthropology dress, you're selling the Target bag (although they are super cute) but replacing it with the Chanel, you're selling your Honda but replacing it with the Audi. This passage is asking us to give up everything with the promise that we will get something so much greater in return. That's what God's kingdom does - meaning the fulfillment of God's promises and His future reign. While it isn't easy giving everything up for God and while an "easy" life afterwards isn't promised either, this verse is telling us that one day it will worth it. It will be worth your whole life because it will be everything you have ever wanted - joy, purpose, love, relationship, security and everything you were ever designed for.
As we move on, the next part might sound identical to the first, "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", but they actually aren't saying the same thing. In the first part, the kingdom of heaven was the hidden treasure, it was being found - it was that dream Nordstrom Rack find. Now, the kingdom of heaven is a merchant doing the searching. The roles are reversed. The merchant - aka the kingdom of Heaven - aka God is looking for fine pearls. Back in Bible times pearls were the diamond of the day. They were the most rare and sought after gem - why? Well, think about it for a minute. Pearls come from oysters which are found at the bottom of the ocean and back then they didn't have all of the fancy diving equipment we do today. Pearls would have been so rare to come by! God is willing to give up everything to gain this one pearl of great value.
So, what does the pearl represent then? The pearl is you! That's right, we have a part in this story and it's the part of the pearl - you are literally a gem! And the most valuable of gems at that! What this part of the story teaches us is that while God is worth everything, God sees YOU as worth everything too. Having a relationship with you is worth everything to Him! Because God, who has so much value looks at you this way it too gives you an inherent value. We could look at it this way, when Meghan Markle was modeling and acting on Suits people had their opinions about her. Some may have loved her and thought she was so beautiful, or good at acting. Others may have not liked her and thought she wasn't that special of a person or actress. In other words, her value could have changed based on who you were talking to and their opinion of her. Since marrying Prince Harry though, Meghan Markle is now a member of the British Royal Family with the title of Duchess. This membership and title that Prince Harry brought to Meghan is set, it isn't up for debate and doesn't change based on opinion. Duchess is constant. Just as Prince Harry brought an inherent value to Meghan Markle through his love and relationship with her, God brings an inherent value to you through his love and relationship with you. This value cannot be taken away and is of very highest of ranks - you are being compared to a pearl after all, the gem of highest value.
Looking at this passage as a whole we see that God is saying He is worth giving everything up for and He is asking us to do just that. While God is asking us to give everything up for Him, He is also promising us that it will all be worth it because what is coming is far greater than what He's asking you to lay down. It's hard to lay everything down, and God understands that - he laid everything down for you too. We can do it with courage and confidence though knowing that God is failthful to His promises and that He sees you as that pearl of great value.
The thought behind my daughter's middle name, "Pearl" was that it would represent this kind of a life and mindset. One that understand's the value of the Kingdom of Heaven and one that understands and finds her own value in God and how He views her instead of through less steady things like brains, beauty, athleticism, popularity, career, wealth, relationship status, the list could go on and on. I wanted the same idea to cover this blog, cover me, and all of you reading it. I want it to be about me and you living life acknowledging both God's value and our own in day-to-day living. I hope and pray that this blog leads us into embracing this kind of "pearly living".