Photo Credit: http://wowscience.io/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/philippines-giant-pearl.jpg
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed by website attributed with the photo credit are their own, FSS does neither claim to advocate or disagree with them explicitly.
Maybe you’ve heard and seen of that really big pearl in the news valued at millions. Do you know that The Good News tells you can have personal possession to a pearl of even greater value?
Matthew 13:44 “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man happens to find a treasure hidden in a field. He covers it up again, and is so happy that he goes and sells everything he has, and then goes back and buys that field. 45 “Also, the Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man is looking for fine pearls, 46 and when he finds one that is unusually fine, he goes and sells everything he has, and buys that pearl. (GNT).
In order to gain that which can not be lost, we need to be ready to give away that which we can not keep. What’s the big deal with divorcing ourselves from material living and become a spiritual being anyway? We’ll have infinite stuff to enjoy in Heaven. So down here we should take faith in Jesus. We should live for others.
We should work harder and help the poor more. This is the only side of eternity that we can help people out of their suffering. In the next, the last will be first and not need our help anymore.
11 “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.”
Matthew 23:11 (NKJV).
30 “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Matthew 19:30 (NKJV).
But wouldn’t it be cool to enter into Heaven with more people loving us? Love is the very thing that we’ll retain in the next life.
Corporate raiders often throw out love in order to climb higher on the rungs because material gains feel more real to them.
16 “A kindhearted woman gains honor, but ruthless men gain only wealth. Proverbs 11:16 (NIV).”
Think of the Madonna song “Material Girl” which praises material wealth, and be the opposite spirit of that. Be a person who loves others highly, and not get too caught up liking stuff or getting close to making money an idol. Remember the famous words of Jesus:
Matthew 6:24 “You cannot be a slave of two masters; you will hate one and love the other; you will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
It is fine to educate yourself always, work a moral job, live a frugal life, and help the poor with money. Work hard for money so you can give it away and help people more. Hate money in that way.
If you can follow Jesus, and live for others… If you can pour your love out even in the face of hatred… If you can encourage others, be friends and help those who have nothing to return… If you can have faith that there is a God who has something better waiting after you pass away… Then maybe you can buy that Pearl of Great Price and live forever.
And even if you can’t do everything perfectly, that’s okay, you don’t have to. God already did everything perfectly and invites you to the Lamb’s wedding feast. Just try to be good and loving and follow Jesus avoiding sin. And if you sin, Jesus paid for that already with his death on the cross where he won ultimate victory against evil, death and hell. Jesus loves you.
6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
8 it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
9 And the angel said[a] to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
Revelations 19:6-9 (NKJV).
Jesus is LORD!
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:10-11 (NKJV).