Pearls, Gemstones, and Diamonds...

Pearls, Gemstones and Diamonds...

They are valuable, rare and one of earth's most beautiful treasures. But have you ever thought of how they are created or where they come from? Take for instance a pearl. Pearls are created deep down on the bottom of the ocean inside the shell of an oyster. Think for a moment the environment a pearl is created in. The ocean floor is dark and cold. Or what about the shell? It is not necessarily the home I would want to be created in. The exterior of the shell is often discolored, callous, crusty and frankly not attractive to look at, touch or hold. Despite its environment, the pearl, a hard rounded gem is formed. How is it formed you may ask? It is formed by irritation. The oyster reacts to an irritation caused by a foreign object. The foreign object can be anything from a parasite to a tiny piece of sand. Have you ever had a foreign object like a pebble in your shoe? Not comfortable at all! The foreign object slips into the oyster’s shell and begins to rub against the soft inner tissue causing irritation. In response to the irritation, the oyster secretes layers of calcium carbonate around the object producing a hard substance. After several years, the substance eventually develops into one of the world’s most beautiful gems – the pearl. Here is something interesting I found out… The greater the irritation is, the more valuable the pearl.

Like the oyster, Ruth experienced many irritations/trials in her young life. She grieved the death of her father-in-law and her beloved husband. She bravely faced the change in direction of her life as well as embraced a move to a foreign land with a bitter mother-in-law. When she arrived in the strange land, the trials did not end. She was immediately thrown into a new working situation among total strangers with new customs. She found herself being the main provider/caretaker for the family. The responsibilities were larger then she could bear. Yet through all the stresses in life, her faith began to wrap itself around the painful situation.

During this holiday season, we think of Jesus’ birth. What was his birth like? Jesus Christ, who is Lord of lords and King of kings. He was born in a manger alongside dirty animals and poop. What kind of environment was that for the birth of the King?!

I wonder how many people view themselves as an ugly oyster. They focus on the discolored, callous, crusty and unpleasant outward appearance. Or what about their environment? How many see themselves as living in dark, cold, deep waters, lonely and beset with trials that come their way and they often think this is not the life they wanted and find their environment and appearance to be unpleasant. To make matters worse, they continually compare their crusty exterior to all the other beautiful seashells around them.

If you are one of these individuals like me, be encouraged. Don’t view the trials of life as irritating grains of sand to be discarded as quickly as possible. Realize that God has them in your life in order to create something beautiful in you.

James 1:2-4 says “Consider it all joy, my brother, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

God is using the sands of trials to make you perfect and complete. He’s developing pearls of character in your life. An ugly oyster shell is an unlikely place to find a lovely gem, but Isaiah 55:8 says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways…” You may see an ugly shell, but God sees the beauty He is creating in you.

Are the sands of trials and irritations causing you bitterness right now, or are you allowing these trials to change you into a priceless pearl? The Lord wants you to be a Person of Virtue – a costly, beautiful pearl for all to admire. Proverb 31:30 says “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

This is the lesson I have learned in regards to the grains of sand in my life. It is my deepest prayer that I would be moldable by those irritations so that pearls of wisdom and beauty may be the result… May this be true in you as well.