One of the most precious and beautiful things in the world is the pearl. The finest specimens command almost fabulous prices and have had historic place in royal adornment through the centuries. The pearl has become the symbol of the richest and most beautiful elements of human life. All virtues and excellencies of character are like pearls gracing human life as precious jewels adorn the person of the possessor. The kingdom of heaven itself Jesus taught was like a merchantman seeking after goodly pearls, and gladly surrendering all for the “pearl of great price.” (Matthew 13:45-46). The origin of the pearl found within the shell of the pearl oyster or mollusk was, to the ancients, most mysterious.
There was a widespread opinion expressed by Pliny and others that pearls were drops of rain or dew falling in the sea and finding their way within the shell of the mollusk and becoming transformed by some strange process into pearl. This is referred to by one of the poets in the line:
“And precious the tear as that rain from the sky,
Which turns into pearls, as if falls in the sea.”
This is a very beautiful and poetic idea, but one far from truth, for the discovery was at length made that the pearl was anything but poetic and beautiful in its first origin – that it came from irritation caused by some foreign substance getting within the shell of the mollusk, and results from the wonderful and mysterious power of the mollusk to obtain relief from things that irritate its sensitive flesh by covering them with a secretion of pearl, until there is no longer any irritation. It might follow that the larger the cause of annoyance and irritation the larger the pearl. What a marvelous and beautiful symbolism and lesson here for the annoyance, irritations, and things that hurt and disturb in human life – to make pearls out of them instead of allowing them to go on hurting and vexing us.
The nearest analogy we can find of this noble use of trials is not in the philosophical attitude of mind, although that may be of value, but supremely in the gift of God’s grace. It would seem from Paul’s case the “thorn of the flesh,” (2 Corinthians 12), that this was what God’s grace did for him. The thorn was not removed but he was promised God’s grace would be sufficient. This is quite like the way the pearl mollusk transforms its irritations into beautiful pearls.
Most of us as Christians must confess our failures in making use of God’s grace for our trials and irritations, at least in a noble and beautiful degree. But we know how, here and there, we ever find those rare souls that so use the grace of God as to make pearls out of their trials and troubles, and for us all, there ever awaits the privilege and duty of making new and larger uses of divine grace. For those of us who will persevere we may have the glad experience of finding many a hard trial of earthly days becoming transformed into pearls. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God . . .” (Romans 8:28).
John B. Daniels, Associate Minister
