A birthstone is a gem assigned to each month of the year and, according to Wikipedia, it represents a person’s birth month. Birthstones are often worn as various types of jewelry. June’s birthstone is a pearl and originates from oceans, lakes and rivers around the world. It is a timeless wardrobe staple, beloved by women of all ages.
My birthstone is not a pearl, but it is my favorite gem. I was pleased to gift my niece, Gina, who has a June birthday, with a beautiful pearl ring that was my mother’s. Like my mother, a pearl with its subtle luster, speaks of purity, humility and innocence.
The exterior of what houses a pearl, in contrast, comes from oysters that have a rough and rocklike exterior with a soft and very fragile inside. The Natural History Museum, tells us that pearl-making is a natural defense against irritants or parasites entering an oyster’s shell. A natural pearl is a pearl grown in a shellfish or mollusk with no human help, is very difficult to find and is of great expense. Pearls are commonly rounded, but also come in various shapes and sizes. Cultured pearls are farmed and require human intervention and care, while others may look genuine, but are mere imitations.
Spiritually speaking, when I think of pearls, I am reminded of the parables of the Lord Jesus describing the Kingdom of Heaven. All of them emphasized its incomparable beauty and immeasurable worth. His comparisons, at that time, were of everyday life which affects us as well.
We read in Matthew 13:3-9 about the Sower and the Seed where Jesus compared the seed being scattered on the soil of a person’s heart. Some was taken by birds, some landed on shallow ground with underlying rock with no way to root, some fell among thorns and when grown were chocked. Other seeds fell on fertile ground producing a crop that could yield thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted. The seed was sown more than once in my life but the world, the flesh and the devil snatched it up . . . until finally, my heart became fertile enough to receive the seed.
Jesus also compared The Kingdom of Heaven, described in Matthew 13:33, to yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened. This is the shortest of the parables, but the most interesting to me.
According to Messiah-of-God.com, yeast is a small organism that causes carbohydrates to ferment, producing carbon dioxide as a byproduct. The carbon dioxide gas causes dough to rise to make leavened bread, which is why bread has pores. It only takes a small amount of yeast placed in a large batch of dough that can cause the entire dough to be affected by the yeast and become leavened.
Likewise, when the Kingdom of God is introduced into the world, it begins to affect everything until it is changed to the point that it is now something new, and it can no longer be called what it originally was.
When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand-new person inside. He is not the same anymore, a new life has begun! 2 Cor. 5:17 TLB
It’s time to return to our subject and read the parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl in Matthew 13:44-45.
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. . . .”
I wish I could say that I when I came to faith some forty-plus years ago, I understood the term Kingdom of God. Maybe at that time it wasn’t explained to me or I wasn’t well versed enough in the Scripture to understand this mystery that I was a part of and wasn’t even aware of what it meant. Praise God for introducing me to mentors and teachers who hold me accountable, challenge me to understand more fully, and to experience the treasures that are available to those who have trusted Christ as their Savior and Lord. My understanding began while attending a conference where the subject, The Kingdom of God, was explored and was referred to as a culture. What is a culture?
Wikipedia, in the following article, defines the word culture, as used in the social sciences and humanities vs. uses in the natural sciences. I have included the most obvious ones.
“Culture is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups. Culture is often originated from or attributed to a specific region or location. A cultural norm codifies acceptable conduct in society; it serves as a guideline for behavior, dress, language, and demeanor in a situation, which serves as a template for expectations in a social group. In the practice of religion, analogous attributes can be identified in a social group. Humans acquire culture through the learning processes of enculturation and socialization, which is shown by the diversity of cultures across societies. Cultural change, or repositioning, is the reconstruction of a cultural concept of a society; cultures are internally affected by both forces encouraging change and forces resisting change. Cultures are externally affected via contact between societies.”
Although Wikipedia’s definition of culture is correct in generalities, those generalities are further defined as we live the culture, we believe in. The Kingdom of God’s culture is clearly defined by the Old and New Testament. The Kingdom of God is mentioned more than 80 times in the New Testament and is the central theme of Jesus Christ’s preaching. But what is meant by this phrase? Is the kingdom of God a physical place or a present spiritual reality? Who are the subjects of this kingdom? And does the kingdom of God exist now or only in the future?
Ron Rhodes, Theology Professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, offers this bite-size definition of the Kingdom of God: “…God’s present spiritual reign over His people (Colossians 1:13) and Jesus’ future reign in the millennial kingdom (Revelation 20).”
Old Testament scholar Graeme Goldsworthy summarized the Kingdom of God in even fewer words as, “God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule.”
The concept of the Kingdom of God is not primarily one of space, territory, or politics, as in a national kingdom, but instead, one of kingly rule, reign, and sovereign control. The Kingdom of God is the realm where God reigns supreme, and Jesus Christ is King. In this kingdom, God’s authority is recognized, and his will is obeyed.
Before our spiritual rebirth, our value system could change with what may be society’s popular choice, i.e., abortion in contrast to life beginning at conception.
You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex . . . You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! Ps. 139:13-15 TLB
or That God created the heavens and the earth, man and woman and everything there is verses the theory of evolution.
Before anything existed, there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is himself God. He created everything there is—nothing exists that he didn’t make. John 1:1-3 TLB
Here in America, we see cultures changing all the time. What is the latest hair style;
or this year’s type of music; or moving to the country or in the city, or whatever to be among that culture. But, what about the moral culture that makes us who we are? Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek, to forgive as our Heavenly Father forgives us, to give more to gain more, while professing love for Jesus who I can’t see and not love my brother or sister who I can see . . . all of these and more are the culture of the Kingdom of God.
Like the man who sold everything to purchase a pearl of great price, I continue to visit that field over and over again and each time, discover more riches in the indescribable, infinite, boundless Kingdom of God.
If you have not found the Pearl of Great Price, I would be happy to help you look.
