The Pearl of Great Price

The Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls.  When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it (Matt. 13:46).

 

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent (Jn. 17:3).

 

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Jesus told Martha that she was anxious about many things, but "only one thing is necessary."  If we want to know that 'one thing,' the "Pearl of Great Price," a good place to begin would be to read the Gospel of John seven times until it sinks deeply into our hearts and minds.  The first time we read it, I think maybe it would be good to read it quickly, without really trying to absorb it -- just read it for information, even though I really don't recommend reading the Bible for information.  In this case, however, we know that we will be reading the same Gospel again and again, so the first time is an overview, to get a bird's -eye view.  The initial reading prepares us to see and make connections during the subsequent readings.

 

In Jesus' great prayer to His Father, the night before He dies, He says, "This is eternal life: that they may know you...."   This is the "one thing necessary," of which He spoke to Martha.  For He told a parable about those who will say on "that day," "Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?"  And His answer is "I never knew you." 

 

The Pearl of Great Price is knowing God and the One He has sent, Jesus Christ.

 

Without that knowledge, all our service is in vain.  We may think we are good people if we are serving the poor, or casting out demons, but if our service is not the fruit of the true Vine, we are, as Paul said, "clanging cymbals."  As for good works, they must be the overflow of the Spirit of Jesus Christ dwelling in us:  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good...all these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each man, just as he determines (1 Cor. 12: 7&11).

 

So it is not what we are doing that brings about the kingdom of God, but only what the indwelling Jesus, the only One who can establish the kingdom, is doing in us and through us.  When we know Him, and He knows us, the kingdom of God arrives through the Spirit He gives us.  When Paul commends the Macedonian churches for their generosity, he says, "...they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will" (2 Cor. 8:5). 

 

That is the pattern of the kingdom of God:  For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10)....for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose (Phil. 2:13).

 

Everyone sooner or later seems to ask, "What is the purpose of my life?"  "What am I supposed to be doing?"  The answer is the Pearl of Great Price --- draw close to God, and He will draw close to you, and then, and only then, will the Spirit of God begin to work in you and through you to establish on earth "His will, as it is in heaven."