‘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.’
Many people gathered at the lakeside when Jesus spoke of wheat and weeds and the Kingdom of God which would grow like a mustard tree from a tiny seed. Back in the house we pressed him to explain the parable of the weeds in the field and then there were more parables. As I listened, tired and close to sleep, a story played out in my mind…
A Man Who Loved Beauty
Reuben lived a simple life. He had only one treasured possession.
Years ago, his lost love was the beauty of the village, and he was passionate about beauty. She was a woman who could have been desirable for that beauty alone, but it was combined with such goodness that he never found another woman to compare with her – her price was above rubies. It was a beauty which was not of this world, it shone from the eyes of a holy soul. Her goodness was so deeply planted in his heart that it was his lifelong inspiration.
Every time he found a thing of beauty, Reuben would bargain and buy it to add it to his store. People would come and buy his treasures, and his wealth increased. He had fine linens, silver and gold, rare perfumes, alabaster ivory, and wood. Men came to buy bracelets, necklaces, and earrings for their brides. No one had such a fine store of beautiful things as he had.
One Object of Desire
Then one day in the marketplace one of the other merchants told him of a treasure that had been brought from a distant island. It was a pearl of exquisite size and beauty. No one could ever have put a value on it. It was, the merchant whispered to Reuben, impossible to define its color or describe its luster.
Even before he had set eyes on it, it had taken shape in his mind and become the most desirable thing he could imagine. He thought of a boy diving down with the weight looped around his ankle pulling him, as it drew him through a turquoise sea, to the bed where he cupped the oyster in his hand. Did he know then what lay within, as he tugged the rope to be retrieved?
The gem would begin a new life as it came to shore. The story of its discovery reached the merchants long before it arrived at the port. Reuben knew he must have the pearl. With that beauty in his possession, there would be nothing else that he would ever want. One by one he emptied his stores of every fine thing he had. Buyers could be seen leaving his house with armfuls of treasures, bought for only a part of their value. He sold everything that was beautiful in his house and stores. And then he sold anything that was not, until at last he was able to buy the pearl.
Our Teacher concluded his parable with a merchant buying one most treasured object but I knew as I looked at him that this Lord was not one to give everything for a precious object, not even a priceless pearl. What, I wondered, would he give everything for?
My story concluded …
No one knows where he sold the pearl or how he came to bring home a child. She was so starved and pitiful that the women told him she would not live. But she was his treasure. He would give all he had for her, and she was what he lived for.
I gazed at Jesus and knew that I was the priceless one whom he came to buy for a great price.
