The Priceless Pearl
"Again, the
kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking
goodly pearls:
who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and
sold all that
he had, and bought it" Matthew 13:45, 46
This goodly pearl
represents the priceless treasure of Christ, as does
the
gold hid in the field. In Christ we have everything that is needful
for
us in this life, and that which will make up the joy of the world
to come.
All the money in the world will not buy the gift of peace and
rest and love.
These gifts are provided for us through faith in Christ.
We cannot purchase these gifts from God;
we have nothing with which to buy
them.
We are the property of God, for mind, soul, and body have
been
purchased by the ransom of the life of the Son of God. . . .
Then what is it to buy the eternal treasure?
It is simply to give back to Jesus His own, to
receive Him into the heart by faith.
It is cooperation with God; it is bearing the
yoke with Christ; it is lifting
His burdens. . . . The Lord Jesus laid aside His
royal crown, He left
His high command, He clothed His divinity with
humanity, in order that
through humanity He might uplift the human race. He
so appreciated the
possibility of the human race that He became man's substitute and
surety. He places upon man His own merit, and thus
elevates him in the
scale of moral value with God.
Christ is the atoning sacrifice. He left the glory
of heaven, He
parted with His riches, He laid aside His honor, not
in order to create
love and interest for man in the heart of God, but to
be an exponent of
the love that existed in the heart of the Father. . .
. Jesus paid the
price of all His riches, He assumed humanity, He
condescended to a life of poverty
and humiliation, in order that He might seek and save that which
was lost.
Through the grace of Christ we may be strengthened
and matured, so
that though now imperfect we may become complete in
Him. We have
mortgaged ourselves to Satan, but Christ came to
ransom and redeem us.
We cannot purchase anything from God.
It is only by grace, the free gift of God in
Christ, that we are saved.
From "That I May Know Him" by
Ellen G. White - Page 83