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One
of the great creatures of the sea is the giant oyster. Many a sea yarn has been
spun around tales of the large ones eating people. Fact is, oysters have little
taste for such large bites. Even the large ones just sit around filtering tiny
organisms out of the water for nourishment.
When something inedible gets inside an oyster, it doesn't have
the ability to spit it out like we might, so it does the next best thing. The
oyster forms a protective coating that slowly builds up over long periods of time,
turning the irritant into a pearl.
At least in part, Jesus is in the business of smoothing our
rough edges and making us into His pearls, beautiful and beneficial to His Church.
At the center of who we are becoming sits idiosyncrasies, temperament, passions,
talents and even our fears. Jesus' work smoothes some edges while changing the
others into blessings.
In Mark
1, Jesus starts calling people (verse
17), freeing them (verses
25 - 26) and healing them (verses
31 & 34). For the rest of their lives they would remember where and when
Jesus touched them and started making them into pearls. At the core of each of
those human pearls would forever be the person Jesus changed.
You are a pearl in progress. Jesus wants to touch your life
moment by moment. Don't resist His working on you as He smoothes the edges and
makes a thing of beauty.
All Scripture references are from the New American
Standard Version unless otherwise noted.
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~ Pearl
