When all else is gone…I know I'll still have my pearl!
My pearl is a thing of exquisite beauty. Perfect and pricelss. It’s my most prized possession.
The one thing I can guarantee to have even if all the world disappears.
The one thing I can always wear with pride.
The one thing that can give me hope when things get tough.
But sometimes people don’t understand!
Some people said my pearl is boring. They said “why not have a jewel like mine?…it looks nicer” and it did at first.
But I found it was just a piece of glass. It shines for a while but it breaks easily.
Not my pearl!! It’s resilient and lasting.
Some have laughed at my foolishness, saying my pearl is nothing but a fake. “Have a precious rock like mine!” they offered. "Well, a rock is tougher than glass" I thought.
But when I looked closer, I saw it was heavy and menacing. If I held on tight, it would make my hands bleed.
Not my pearl! Light and smooth…wouldn’t hurt me no matter how tight I held on.
Many said I only value my pearl because it’s an “heirloom”…passed down to me by my family.
Maybe it was! But its value is far higher than something I just inherited. I have to earn it, you know!
So many times I misplaced it…
I thought it was lost…
But I always get back to it…nothing is more beautiful and serene.
If you have a pearl like mine, you’ll know what I mean.
If you want one, I know a guy. They’re goin' like hot cakes, but I’m sure He has enough for everyone.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. (Mat 13:45-46)
أَيْضًا يُشْبِهُ مَلَكُوتُ السَّمَاوَاتِ إِنْسَانًا تَاجِرًا يَطْلُبُ لآلِئَ حَسَنَةً، فَلَمَّا وَجَدَ لُؤْلُؤَةً وَاحِدَةً كَثِيرَةَ الثَّمَنِ، مَضَى وَبَاعَ كُلَّ مَا كَانَ لَهُ وَاشْتَرَاهَا
It comes with a lifetime guarantee:
28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:28)
وَأَنَا أُعْطِيهَا حَيَاةً أَبَدِيَّةً، وَلَنْ تَهْلِكَ إِلَى الأَبَدِ، وَلاَ يَخْطَفُهَا أَحَدٌ مِنْ يَدِي.
And a certificate of authenticity:
Signed with His love…
Sealed with His sacred blood…
And delivered by His Holy Spirit.
The one thing I can guarantee to have even if all the world disappears.
The one thing I can always wear with pride.
The one thing that can give me hope when things get tough.
But sometimes people don’t understand!
Some people said my pearl is boring. They said “why not have a jewel like mine?…it looks nicer” and it did at first.
But I found it was just a piece of glass. It shines for a while but it breaks easily.
Not my pearl!! It’s resilient and lasting.
Some have laughed at my foolishness, saying my pearl is nothing but a fake. “Have a precious rock like mine!” they offered. "Well, a rock is tougher than glass" I thought.
But when I looked closer, I saw it was heavy and menacing. If I held on tight, it would make my hands bleed.
Not my pearl! Light and smooth…wouldn’t hurt me no matter how tight I held on.
Many said I only value my pearl because it’s an “heirloom”…passed down to me by my family.
Maybe it was! But its value is far higher than something I just inherited. I have to earn it, you know!
So many times I misplaced it…
I thought it was lost…
But I always get back to it…nothing is more beautiful and serene.
If you have a pearl like mine, you’ll know what I mean.
If you want one, I know a guy. They’re goin' like hot cakes, but I’m sure He has enough for everyone.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. (Mat 13:45-46)
أَيْضًا يُشْبِهُ مَلَكُوتُ السَّمَاوَاتِ إِنْسَانًا تَاجِرًا يَطْلُبُ لآلِئَ حَسَنَةً، فَلَمَّا وَجَدَ لُؤْلُؤَةً وَاحِدَةً كَثِيرَةَ الثَّمَنِ، مَضَى وَبَاعَ كُلَّ مَا كَانَ لَهُ وَاشْتَرَاهَا
It comes with a lifetime guarantee:
28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:28)
وَأَنَا أُعْطِيهَا حَيَاةً أَبَدِيَّةً، وَلَنْ تَهْلِكَ إِلَى الأَبَدِ، وَلاَ يَخْطَفُهَا أَحَدٌ مِنْ يَدِي.
And a certificate of authenticity:
Signed with His love…
Sealed with His sacred blood…
And delivered by His Holy Spirit.
posted by Bent El Neel at ٣:٤٣ م
14 Comments:
That is simply beautiful.
I have a pearl, too!
I loved it! Very inspirational!
Neferteeti: you picked up a verse that means a lot to me.
"he went away and sold everything he had and bought it."
What brave merchant?
What a precious pearl?
What a great jeweller?
Blessed are those who could find their pearl and sold everything to buy it.
Carolanne and Cminor:
Thank you ladies :)I'm glad you enjoyed sharing this contemplation with me.
EW:
The beauty of this pearl is that He's already made the down payment for us on the cross! Once we accept this, whatever else we have sell to get it won't seem like much. There are two verses that I absolutely love which perfectly demonstrate this:
6But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. (Romans 7:6)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2Cor 5:17)
So you see once we accept Him, it's just like finding something so beautiful that nothing we've ever had seems to compare.
The verse in the post that really affected me was the verse from John 10:28. It was the last thing I read on the night before I wrote the post...and it was sooo beautiful that it went straight to my heart. I went to sleep that night in tears, repeating the verse over and over to myself. I wasn't crying from sadness...it was such immense happiness that He is telling me I am safe, right in the hands of God Himself.
I read the beautiful post and the comments that followed, just as touching, and I thought.... how on earth could your average Muslim even come close to .... understanding (??) the essence of Christianity and Christ's presence in our lives !!!-
I would confidently predict that this post will attract no (non zero zilch) comments from the Mohameds of this world- they have nothing comparable to draw from, let alone understanding what this is about
red
Thanks for your comment.
Unfortunately, and because of the typical lack of understanding of Christianity in Islamic societies, the Christian faith is just sssssssooooooooooo misrepresented and misunderstood.
All they know about Christianity (or any other faith for that matter) is taken from books and articles produced specifically to demean and defile Christianity and the Holy Bible. What I have heard from Muslims about Christianity is closer to legend and myth than it is to any reality I have known of my faith.
The average Muslim (Thanks to the work of Deedat and Sharawi, etc...) thinks that:
-The Bible is a fake
-The Bible is filled with smut and filth
-Different Christian denominations don't acknwledge each other as Christian?!
-Jews infiltrated the Christian faith and altered it to serve their purposes (which by the way fails to explain the Inquisition)
and other such absurd claims.
That was the start of my discussion with Mohammed F. Understanding!! Christians are not permitted to speak about their faith in predominantly Muslim societies...even if it's in the context of responding to outrageous claims against our faith. So the ignorance of the true nature of Christianity continues.
Red:
To follow up on Bent's excellent points as to why Moslems can't understand the fullness of Jesus' love and his willingness to sacrifice himself to forgive our sins is because Islam doesn't regard God as love. Red Quarn 51:57 Where God supossedly says that he created dinns and humans to worship him and for nothing else.
Thus you can pick up the origins of why Islamic societies are fixated on repeatitive rituals. Who cares how bad you are or how unfairly you treat some one as long as you follow the 5 pillars, God is compassionate.
Further you can see how a society will become violent. If you think through the implications: God is a stern landlord and the prophets are his foreman to ensure compliance. Or to state it more vulgarly: God is mean and the prophets are there to beat the shit out of us.(cf the muttawa that are always hitting women on the ankles; or whipping people or screaming at them for not being at the mosque, etc)
And as Bent reminds us Omar's pact prohibits Christians from defending their faith; so our silence is taken as truth when in fact it's because we'll be murdered for having the effontry to 'rebel'
In areas where shar'ia doesn't apply the Moslems are disoriented by the vigourous apologetics and and confidence that Christians display.
xavier
أزال أحد مشرفي المدونة هذا التعليق.
This is so amazing! I did not know that you were a poet too, bent. I haven't always appreciated my pearl but I am very thankful that I never lost it altogether.
Bint
You are too sweet :). I wouldn’t say I am a poet…but when it comes to things that I truly love and that are so dear to me, perhaps I can be just a little tiny bit of a poet, lol.
The verses I wrote about are very special to me because I came across them when I was going through a really rough week…emotionally and physically. I questioned my own faith, but God reassured me I was safe in His hands.
Perhaps to God we are this precious pearl that He sacrificed on the cross to save and protect!
It was this relief and joy that poured out into the post. Glad you could share this joy with me :)
Bent:
Thanks for the MEMRI link! I went to the site & it even had transcripts! Nerd heaven!
Bint:
I stopped by your blog after reading your first comment. Your courage inspires me! You will definitely be in my prayers!
CMinor, thank you so much for stopping by. All prayers are GREATLY appreciated. That reminds me...
Bent, if you don't mind, I'd like to add you to the prayer list at my congregation. We often pray for those who are being persecuted for their faith and the Coptic church definitely qualifies in that respect, I think. Please let me know if it would be okay with you.
hugs & kisses
bint alshamsa said "We often pray for those who are being persecuted for their faith and the Coptic church definitely qualifies in that respect, I think"
I can assure you bint that that persecution is real, sinister and has been going on for hundreds of years, and increasing daily
I would ask you, however, to also pray for our Muslim brothers so that the Lord helps them see what the majority of them are incapable of seeing
Bint
Thanks for the hugs and kisses...I really needed them this morning :)
And thank you for thinking of us in your prayers. Please do pray for Copts and for Egypt...and Red; you took the words right out of "keyboard" again, please pray for all Muslims too.
Take care sweet Bint! Hugs and kisses right back at ya :)
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