Articles and Testimonies

A Precious Pearl

by J.E.T., London, Ontario

Pearls for Christ

Relationship- How do we get there? Why does God put us through what seem to be hardships and trials in life? He does it to test us in order to discover whether or not we will trust, praise, and believe that He is there with us. The reason God puts us through these tests is to see if we will become a pearl and cast our crown before His throne. . Will we serve Him or throw blame on others? Will we quit reading our Bible and praying?

The pearl needs a clam to house it. The clam becomes irritated by the sand particles with which it comes in contact, and in an effort to protect itself from any further discomfort, the clam produces a protective fluid. The pearl begins to evolve within the clam, and as it grows, it becomes harder and harder. If we think of the clam as “each one of us”, the irritation of the sand as “a test from God”, the fluid as “the Holy Spirit” and the pearl as “the fruit of the Spirit”, we can begin to understand, that as we go through a trial, and yet continue to trust in God’s goodness, we change, and grow,(through the power of the Holy Spirit) in areas of service and dedication to our Lord Jesus. OR DO WE DEVELOP AN ATTITUDE OF REBELLION AND BLAME GOD OR THOSE AROUND US AS WE FAIL TO SUBMIT AND EMBRACE OUR “TESTING TIMES”. God allows us,(and sets us up) to encounter trouble . If we cry out to Him for help, and if we keep believing God’s promises, and depending on Him for strength, we will be changed for the better. We will learn to put our trust in God and praise Him in all situations... and we will be blessed. As the pearl gets larger, its value increases. The more we praise God, and exercise our faith muscle, the stronger we become in the Word.... and our character is changed. Like the pearl, our lives have value. God allows us to go through issues in our lives in order to “grow” us into precious pearls <1 Peter 2:19-25>. How many of us let our feelings run rampant and complain that the Christian walk is too difficult, and declare that we’ll never make it. We allow these thoughts to bombard us and then we start to believe them. As a result, we stop reading the Word and stop believing what we pray. We begin listening to (and comparing ourselves to) others, thus taking our eyes off the plan that God has for us. We listen to other people and assume that their lives are “O.K”. Yet in reality, the “other” people are struggling as well, even if they choose to hide their hurts behind a facade, portraying themselves as “O.K.” So we have to keep looking up and asking God to help us through the rough times, (the irritating times). We need to allow God to bring the changes into our lives, (especially the changes that take us from our “comfort” zone) in order that we might bring glory to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (as the pearl that is precious in His sight) AMEN. God is maturing us to become a pearl here on earth as well as in the Kingdom of God. (Heaven). The trials and hardships are designed to melt us and mold us into the likeness of Christ Jesus. In the end we will come to the point where we finally realize and surrender to the reality that God is in control of our lives, even in the midst of the abrasive irritations and trials, and we must learn not to murmur and complain about our lot in life. We also have to learn to live with the consequences of our choices. We must remain steadfast <1 Corinthians 15:58> in believing, trusting, praising, worshiping, reading the Word and praying every day. We must not grow weary in doing good . When we turn and blame people, the Church, or the authority figures over us we do not become that pearl Christ is endeavouring to create. We have to persevere to follow Christ, not man, in order to evolve into that valuable pearl. During the process of maturing, we need to allow God to do what needs to be done in order to create the beautiful gem. Even when it seems that we are “swimming against the tide of public opinion”, what matters is what “God” thinks, not what “man” thinks. If we truly desire to be changed from the inside, out, ... changed from glory to glory <2 Corinthians 4:17>... we need to pull up our boot straps and persevere through all the “uncomfortable” situations that God allows, to be transformed from Glory to Glory. The pearl emerges when we persevere and become ccountable to God and to the Church. We become that Gem in Gods eyes.

I am reminded of the song When He Cometh. Bright gems for his Crown.

J.E.T. London, Ontario