The Pearl of Great Price

The Pearl of Great Price

What do I value most?


About the passage:
Jesus has begun to teach his disciples in life images or parables, an indirect way to speak truth. Those who are really interested will hang in there, ask questions, ponder and apply--those who have ears to hear and eyes to see and understand.
The Kingdom of God is like that, hidden to the world, like the wheat growing up with its look-alike fake and dangerous darnel, or the treasure buried in the field, or the most valuable pearl recognized only by the merchant. He understood its worth and gave up or sold everything else.

This art station leads us to consider a series of items and ponder their priority in our lives, compared to the Pearl, the Kingdom, the Rule of God.

a watch--time
My watch battery died and I haven't replaced it because I have my cell phone.
The real question is how does my use of time reflect my obedience to the King?

a car
I really like driving my car where everything has its place and I can listen to whatever audio book I'm into at the time. However, now in retirement, hubby likes to use my car if I'm not using it because it gets better mileage. That's OK, most of the time. We save money for the Kingdom, or survival on SS.
We have never bought a new car as we consider it poor stewardship. We accept that the King may direct others differently.

a house
We have lived in a variety of dwellings: apartments, small houses, a mobile home, and several cabins on a missionary ship. Now we own our own home, built by amazing handy-man, self-taught husband Mike (over a period of years in his spare time, I might add!). When we came back from being overseas missionaries, we had nothing. The King has been very good to us.
How much do I value this beautiful home? I know I have often failed to maintain what God has so graciously given and I am definitely working on that now in this new season of life.
Looking back over the years we have lived here and reading the names of the many who have passed through our home, one full guest book worth, I reflect with amazement on how the King arranged all those encounters. Hospitality reaps so many blessings, worth much more than the trouble to prepare and clean up, besides I need those deadlines to get things done!

a cell phone? a camera?
I was asking hubby just yesterday how long cell phones have been in. We have grown so dependent, we can't imagine how we survived BC. They can be very useful tools, or not.
What would I do without my camera. Mike knows, so when one dies, or gets lost, he buys me another! Maybe he recognizes it is part of Kingdom work?

a dog/petsGrowing up we did NOT have pets, probably because we were a missionary family and Kingdom work was more important. Mother chose not to spend time caring for animals or cleaning up after them.
So, it has been a learning experience for me to have dogs, rabbits, horses, and now a cat. I am accepting the role of pets in family life and all that we can learn from the King's creatures.

a computer
Gone are the days of typewriters, thank God for word processors! And the internet! Not being connected to the WWW can really affect our disposition. Communication is a life line, whatever platform: e-mail, Facebook, blogging, Twitter (don't use that one yet). We have come so far from when my grandmother carbon-typed four and five pages-worth of letters from all the missionary children and mailed a copy to each in five different countries and three continents. What a labor of love, we so looked forward to those epistles.
Is my time on the computer part of a work of love for the King?

a sofa/comforts of life
We love our sofa for naps and watching TV with a basket of clothes to fold or mending or whatever. We do enjoy relaxing in the evenings, or even later, each sitting in our own accustomed spot to wind down with a favorite show or a movie. Are we happy to give that up if the King gives us another assignment?
Are there any comforts we would not give up?

a guitar/music
I do have a piano again after many years without, and have enjoyed going back over the pieces I used to play oh too many decades ago. Amazing that the skills were not totally lost. Thank you Mom & Dad for those 10 years of piano lessons! It's been enjoyable to play hymn arrangements for Dad and others in the Health Center while they eat or are being fed. Those old melodies stir something deep within the soul.

I have been asking myself is there anything else I would add to the list of things I value.
When we've gone camping or even on a bike ride, and I failed to take something to write with, or if I am too long without something to read, I find myself becoming restless, even antsy.

The artist then directs our attention to a colorful item with a price tag. Perhaps it is not necessary to have the latest fashion item. Has anything become a must-have, an obsession?

Does anything compare to the Pearl??? The guide, doing the art critique and commentary at Cornerstone's Art Pilgrimage, pointed out the meaningful way the Pearl is being held showing its incomparable worth. Those few who recognize its value, relinquish everything they own to obtain it. The Kingdom costs true discipleship. Everything.