You Are My Pearl

Matthew 13:45,46

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

God had used Pastor Dennis Davenport to counsel me, and his counsel was to “date Jesus” for a while. To get to know Jesus, the One who loves me like no other can. This Jesus, who loved me so much, it took Him to the cross. He knows me and He knows just how to love me. Only He can meet my deepest need…to feel completely loved. He was about to woo me. I had no idea Jesus would come into my life, to show me in such a personal way that He was after my heart. He knew in order for me to “get it,” He would need to reveal to me it was Him who was after me. Jesus wooed my heart to Him. And I fell in love…with Him.

The pastor counseled me to read a chapter a day in the Bible, starting with the first book in the New Testament; Matthew. The first day I read Matthew 1, second day-Matthew 2, etc. When I read Matthew 12, it was a day to be remembered and written in my journal.

When I read Matthew 12, I prayed and went for a jog. Later I went to the grocery store in need of something yummy. But it turned into something else, something loving-I think I heard Jesus’ voice for the first time in my life.

I was in the produce section squeezing some fruit, when I noticed him. He was an older gentleman, maybe late fifties, light brown hair and on the thin side. He caught my eye because of all the red roses in his cart. There must have been three dozen. I was intrigued by how he was intensely searching for the perfect greeting card to go with the roses. He went from one to the other, with a fervent desire for the perfect card. All of a sudden he looked up, and found me staring at him. “Oh no”, I thought…I immediately looked down at the fruit I was squeezing, pretending not to notice. He went back to looking for the perfect card. When I thought it was safe to look again, I lifted my head from the fruit to stare at this man with his red roses. He must have felt my eyes burning in the back of his head, as he suddenly stopped, looked my direction again, only to find me staring at him! “I’m busted again!” I thought. I quickly went back to squeezing my melons in hopes not to look like a complete fool. Then he went back to looking intently at the cards hoping to find the perfect one once again. Yes…I started to stare again… only for him to turn quickly this time and full on bust me looking at him straight in the eye. I had no choice but to laugh at myself…he smiled back.

I decided it was best for me to leave the area and went on my way to do my own shopping. He must have thought I was an absolute freak! Oh well…it was cool watching a man in love with three-dozen roses and the perfect card. When I finished shopping, and walked with my grocery cart to my car, the older gentleman walked up to me with three of the roses, and offered them to me.

He said, “Here… these are for you. I just wanted to let you know that it is my thirtieth wedding anniversary and the roses and card are for my beautiful wife.” I said, “I knew it was for someone special. Are you sure you want to give these to me?”

“Yes, I do.” “Thank you.” He turned and walked back to his car as I got into my car. I sat watching him rearrange the roses just perfectly for her. I thought, “If only she could see him doing this for her…that’s the gift, not the roses themselves or the card, but the time he’s putting into this just for her.”

As I drove past him through the parking lot I heard a voice. This was the first time I had ever heard His voice. It was a still small voice just as the Bible speaks of. It felt like a whisper behind the back of my neck.

“Tammy…the roses…they are from Me.” “Jesus…is that You?” I turned to look only to find no one there, but I was sure I heard Him say the roses were from Him. My heart was touched deeply because I knew it was indeed Jesus speaking to my heart. I touched the roses as if they were the most precious gift I had ever received. Can this be? Jesus giving me roses, can He do that? He is God after all…I guess He can do this. He touched me…He touched my heart that night.

As I woke up the next day, I decided to go on a jog first thing in the morning, and read Matthew 13 when I returned home. I was jogging on my normal daily route, on a busy road, when I heard the voice again.

This time I heard, “look down.” I instantly looked down and saw something glowing on the road. I stopped to pick it up. It was a beautiful bracelet. A pearl bracelet, with each pearl set in a gold heart!

While I held the bracelet I heard His voice say, “It’s for you.” “For me!” Now He is giving me jewelry? Can this be? Am I imagining all this? Why would He be doing this for me? This does not make any sense, I’ve never heard of this before. I didn’t ponder it any further until I got home.

I picked up my bible and opened to Matthew 13:45-46, and read, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

I held the pearl bracelet in my hand while I read the scripture. Then He spoke again, “Tammy, you are my pearl.” “I’m Your pearl?” “Me?” “I’m Your pearl?”

My heart was so pierced by what He was speaking to me. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening to me; of all people! I was being pursued- by the living God, and He wanted me to know without a doubt it was indeed Him. He timed it all so perfectly. Only He would have known the day and the hour I would be holding a beautiful pearl bracelet the very day I was to read Matthew 13. That is God. He wanted my attention and He got it.

I desired to know this Jesus who would go out of His way to show me personally that He loved me. I was just a young lady in serious need of knowing what real love really was. He was after my heart, and knew what it would take for me to believe. It worked. I wanted to know this man Jesus. I wanted to know why He would do this for me. He hooked me in.

Every day since, I eagerly look forward to all He shares with me, learning He does indeed speak through His Word. I open my Bible knowing He wants to reveal Himself to me. He wooed me, He loves me, and I want to spend the rest of my life knowing Him and loving Him. He loved me first, and I couldn’t help but fall in love with Him back.

It’s funny when I think of pearls. A pearl begins as nothing more than an irritating grain of sand stuck in a shell of an oyster. The oyster surrounds the grain with a crystalline covering, which over years hardens and becomes precious and valuable. Those who study such things say the most beautiful pearls take seven years to form. During the seven-year period, the irritating piece of sand is hidden away-clothed and covered with beauty. That’s us-irritating pieces of sand. Yet, the Lord clothes us in His righteousness. It is Jesus who is beautiful. His righteous beauty covers me.

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” IN HIM.

You are a pearl! We are all pearls! Of great price to Him-you have been clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And His righteousness is a thing of matchless pure beauty and beyond unspeakable value in the eyes of God. All because of what Jesus did for us.

Like that grain of sand, do you ever think you’re irritating? In His eyes you are actually a masterpiece of His glory. You are a pearl of His grace. Bright like the stars in a dark sky. Even the angels look at you as a miracle of God and praise Him! Then they turn, look at Jesus and say, “glory, glory, glory be to the Lamb.” Hallelujah to the Lamb, who took that little speck of sand, you and me and made it a pearl of great price! God loves you. Jesus demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Amazing, truly amazing.

I used to ask questions like, “Why would Jesus die for me. What can I do to deserve Him dying for me?” A powerful question is: When did Jesus die for us? Not when we were going to church, or reading His Word, or in the midst of praying. He looked at us when we were nothing more then an irritation and said, “I love you and I’ll give all I have to redeem you, my treasure.”

And He doesn’t just stop there…it’s a journey remember?