Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Matthew 13:45-46

Jesus, when looking for an object to compare the kingdom of heaven to, chose a pearl of great price. Fine pearls were very valuable and costly in Jesus’ day, as they are to some extent today. In Jesus’ day it was dangerous to dive for pearls and many a diver ruined his health in such a pursuit. This only added to the value of pearls.

In this parable a merchant sees a costly pearl and decides to sell everything he has in order to obtain it. So it is with God’s kingdom. To obtain citizenship in God’s kingdom one must relinguish the right of all things, even his life, to Christ.

Here we see that salvation is not something that a man or woman automatically falls into. Instead, salvation is something men and women choose. The merchant chose to give up all to obtain the pearl. So it is with eternal life. Some would say; “Jesus, how can You put so much emphasis on the human agency in such parables?” Jesus is calling men and women to make a choice for Him, but making this choice is empowered by God. God meets with us and supplies the ability to do what we would normally not, namely to commit all of  our lives to Him.

Bring your heart to Jesus, knock, seek, ask and commit your life and heart to Him. He will write His law upon it and make it new. Then your outer life will be an expression of your inner-heart life. The fruit of your life will be good because it grows out of the root of Christ.

Friend, do not settle for anything less than true conversion. When you receive Christ by faith, there is a confirmation brought to your heart. Your spirit attests to the fact that Jesus is there, and you know it.

To receive Christ means making a full surrender of your heart to Him. Oh, let Jesus have your heart. Only God knows the extent of the windings of a twisted heart. Let Jesus have your heart and unwind and re-create it. Do not convince yourself that you can merely believe in Jesus casually without making a commitment to Him. Many profess to believe in Him but their belief has never produced an inner witness or a rest in actual salvation. To gain this you must enter through the door of commitment to Jesus. Give Him your life. Call out to Him.

Friend, if you do not know Jesus, what are you holding on to? Is it your own will, your own pride, your own life? Friend, if you will stand up and say; “I am done with these things forever” and run to Jesus, and let Him embrace you and surrender to His  Lordship , He will make you a child of God. Never mind what choices others have made, choose Jesus yourself and give Him all.

Friend, put your heart on the side of truth and godliness. Put your heart in Jesus’ hands. Even now He stands ready and willing to forgive all who will come to Him in repentance and faith. Friend, once a person has his heart convicted, broken and awakened to its need of God, there is only one thing left to do, surrender to Jesus. God’s eyes run to and fro throughout the earth to see who will make the commitment to surrender all. What does He see when His eyes stop on you?

Friend, if you do not know Him, cry out to Jesus that He would change your heart. Friend, a natural man has a mere natural life, aspiring to earthly and fleshly things, following his instincts. When Jesus is given a person’s heart and life He changes it to become spiritiual. God’s kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. Its subjects have been changed and have holy desires and motivations.

Friend, choose to give Jesus all. On the cross Jesus died for you and for me. This is the stopping place, the cross of Jesus. Do not move past it. I have said that it was dangerous for divers to gather pearls and many ruined their health in the process. This made the value of the pearls even greater. Friend, Jesus did more for you than dive to the sea floor. Jesus, the sinless Son of God, died for you and for me. Jesus died for our sins. Nails were driven through His hands and His feet and He was erected on a cross to die slowly in agony. Jesus died to satisfy God’s justice and judgment of our sin. Then He rose from the dead in three days. A pearl was created that day. Now, friend, it is for you to choose to sell all, sell out and receive the pearl of God’s kingdom, the pearl of salvation. Commit all of yourself to Him. Call out to Him now. He stands with ears open and arms outstretched to receive you. God bless you.

 

Shawn Stevens

References :

Booth, Catherine. Aggressive Christianity. The Salvation Army Supplies And Purchasing Department. Atlanta, Georgia.

Booth, Catherine. Life And Death. The Salvation Army Supplies And Purchasing Department. Atlanta, Georgia.

Booth, Catherine. Papers On Godliness. The Salvation Army Supplies And Purchasing Department. Atlanta, Georgia.

MacArthur, John F. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary : Matthew 8-15. Chicago : The Moody Bible Institute, 1987.

Scripture taken from the King James Version.