[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fdiving-for-pearls":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fdiving-for-pearls-surround":66},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":12,"columnName":49,"date":50,"description":18,"extension":51,"image":52,"meta":53,"minRead":54,"navigation":55,"path":56,"postType":57,"publication":58,"publicationUrl":52,"seo":59,"stem":60,"topics":61,"__hash__":65},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fdiving-for-pearls.md","Diving for Pearls",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11],"1 Timothy","Revelation","Matthew",{"type":13,"value":14,"toc":45},"minimark",[15,19,22,25,28,31,39,42],[16,17,18],"p",{},"It all begins with a grain of sand.",[16,20,21],{},"A foreign substance slips inside an oyster shell, and the oyster reacts by covering up the irritant to protect itself. A pearl results when the grain of sand is covered with layers of a substance called \"nacre,\" the same material used to create the shell. Pearls come in different colors and shapes. Some occur naturally; some are nudged along by pearl harvesters who insert irritants into the oyster shell; but all of them illustrate how something painful and irritating can lead to something beautiful.",[16,23,24],{},"Ornamental pearls were highly valued in the ancient world. The apostle Paul reminded Christian women that true beauty doesn't come from \"braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes,\" but from \"good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God\" (1 Timothy 2:9, 10). In its awe-inspiring picture of Heaven, the book of Revelation calls special attention to the 12 gates of the Holy City and notes that the gates \"were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl\" (Revelation 21:21).",[16,26,27],{},"Jesus' listeners must have smiled when he said, \"Do not throw your pearls to pigs\" (Matthew 7:6). Why would anyone cast a lovely string of pearls before smelly swine that will simply trample the pearls into the mud?",[16,29,30],{},"Another time Jesus said, \"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\" (Matthew 13:45, 46). R. C. Foster wrote that Jesus' story about the pearl of great price \"sets before us the important nature of our choices in life. If all we had to do was to choose between good and bad, it would not be so difficult. But we must constantly choose between good and better. At times these decisions are supremely difficult. But until we are ready to surrender everything to Christ, we are not fit to be his followers. The pearl fancier knew and loved pearls. . . . But he knew there must be somewhere a pearl above all others in value. . . . He would have the best, even if it cost everything else he possessed.\"",[16,32,33,34,38],{},"Indianapolis Colts football coach Tony Dungy led his team to victory in the 2007 Super Bowl. In his book ",[35,36,37],"em",{},"Quiet Strength",", Dungy says, \"I love coaching football, and winning a Super Bowl was a goal I've had for a long time. But it has never been my purpose in life. My purpose in life is simply to glorify God.\"",[16,40,41],{},"Dungy likes to quote Matthew 16:26, which asks, \"What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?\"",[16,43,44],{},"To know and follow Christ is the pearl of great price, worth more than anything else. Thank the Lord for the grains of sand—those pesky but necessary irritants—that remind us where the real treasures are found.",{"title":46,"searchDepth":47,"depth":47,"links":48},"",2,[],"First Look","2008-05-25","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fdiving-for-pearls","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":18},"articles\u002Fdiving-for-pearls",[62,63,64],"Biblical Theology","Spiritual Formation","Discipleship","Lb1ROyw2huwDalAwIeQNudX9UN_BzYKtz8Es6IHcWKY",[67,72],{"title":68,"path":69,"stem":70,"description":71,"children":-1},"The Disciples’ Prayer","\u002Farticles\u002Fdisciples-prayer","articles\u002Fdisciples-prayer","The Lord’s Prayer contains only about 70 words, and it can be said in less than a minute. But for nearly 2,000 years it has inspired great music, comforted the dying, and encouraged the downhearted. Many of us memorized the Lord’s Prayer when we were children. In the past, it was routinely recited in public schools. Someone described it as “the first prayer we learn by heart and the last we forget.”",{"title":73,"path":74,"stem":75,"description":76,"children":-1},"DIY Religion","\u002Farticles\u002Fdiy-religion","articles\u002Fdiy-religion","I smiled at the irony when I read a sign in a hardware store that said, “We specialize in helping Do It Yourselfers.” Even if you do things yourself, you probably need some help."]