pearl
 Are you a collector? People collect everything. When I was a boy I collected Brooke Bond tea cigarette cards. I can remember collections of birds, wild flowers and outer space. I can also remember the excitement of finding the last card that completed a collection and the willingness on my part to part with many other cards to get the one I needed. Today those card collections would be worth something – if only I had kept them! People collect stamps, coins, match boxes, antiques, thimbles etc. etc. You name it I expect there is a collection of them somewhere.
In our series on what the kingdom of God is like Jesus tells a story of a collector. Even in his day it was clearly something people did. In this story the collector was a merchant who dealt in and collected pearls. He was obviously on the lookout for the ‘best ever’! Jesus says in Matthew chapter 13 v45-46 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
In last week’s story the man found the treasure in the field accidentally. He wasn’t particularly looking for it. However this merchant was. He was actively searching. He knew there had to be something special, something different out there and he was on the lookout. As soon as he saw it he went into action and sold his whole collection of pearls for the one beyond price. “Seek and you will find,” said Jesus. If you are seeking the kingdom you will find it and Jesus is its king!
We always admire people who seem to have an inner beauty. They seem to be the kind of kingdom people we aspire to be. We like to hang out with them and spend time with them. We might have been told that a pearl is formed around a grain of sand, an irritant around which the oyster secretes mother-of-pearl. Hence God forms beauty around our pains, hurts and brokenness. Unfortunately this is not the case. A natural pearl is formed around a parasite that works its way in through the outer shell. Now parasites are like unwelcome guests. Jesus, on the other hand, waits to be invited in. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. When we do, when we invite the king of the kingdom in, despite our pain and brokenness, he will come in and form relationship with us and begin to transform us into kingdom people.
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