PRICELESS

-Connect-
Jenny was a bright-eyed, pretty five-year-old girl who after seeing plastic pearl necklace for sale begged her mother to buy it for her. Her mom did but only after Jenny agreed to do specific chores to pay off the necklace. How Jenny loved those pearls. She wore them everywhere - to kindergarten, bed and when she went out with her mother to run errands.

Now Jenny had a very loving daddy. When Jenny went to bed, he would get up from his favorite chair every night and read Jenny her favorite story. One night when he finished the story, he said,

“Jenny, do you love me?”
“Oh yes, Daddy, you know I love you,” the little girl said.
“Well, then, give me your pearls.”
“Oh! Daddy, not my pearls!” Jenny said.
“But you can have Rosie, my favorite doll. Remember her? You gave her to me last year for my birthday. And you can have her tea party outfit, too. Okay?”
“Oh no, darling, that’s okay.” Her father brushed her cheek with a kiss.
“Good night, little one.”

A week later, her father once again asked Jenny after her story,
“Do you love me?”
“Oh yes, Daddy, you know I love you.”
“Well, then, give me your pearls.”

“Oh, Daddy, not my pearls! But you can have Ribbons, my toy horse. Do you remember her? She’s my favorite. Her hair is so soft, and you can play with it and braid it and everything. You can have Ribbons if you want her, “Daddy,” the little girl said to her father.

“No, that’s okay,” her father said and brushed her cheek again with a
kiss. “God bless you, little one. Sweet dreams.”

Several days later, when Jenny’s father came in to read her a story, Jenny was sitting on her bed and her lip was trembling.

“Here, Daddy,” she said, and held out her hand.

She opened it and her beloved pearl necklace was inside. She let it slip into her father’s hand. With one hand her father held the plastic pearls and with the other he pulled out of his pocket a blue velvet box. Inside of the box were real, genuine, beautiful pearls. He had had them all along. He was waiting for Jenny to give up the cheap stuff so he could give her the real thing.



-Reflect- Read: Matthew 13
Key Verse: Matthew 13:45-46

“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.”
In these verses we see the parable of the “Fine Pearls” where Jesus speaks of a merchant who sold everything he had, his land, his animals, his food, I mean everything he had just so that he could obtain the fine pearls he had found. Jesus is comparing Heaven to these fine pearls and is asking what are you willing to give up to obtain the gift he has for you which is eternal life in Heaven?

-Direct-
There are things in this world that we seek to obtain, a house, a new car, nice clothes; all the new technology there is etc., etc., and we go to many lengths to buy all these things for ourselves or to get other people get it for us; things that at the end will do nothing for our salvation or impress God for that matter. None of these things if you really think about it can compare with the reward God has for us in heaven and we would know that if we would just let go of the “plastic pearls”. In our story Jenny didn’t receive the real pearls until she let go of the plastic ones. Many times we won’t know what we are missing out on until we decide to let go of that we think is the best there is.

-What kind of “imitation” things are in your life? “fake relationships?”
-Have you every really experienced God giving you something that was much better than you imagined?-What did you like about this chapter?