Through the years, I’ve heard this story many times, this parable of a loving dad who gave his young daughter a necklace of simulated pearls. And oh, how she loved that string of white beads.
However, each night at bedtime, Dad would ask, “Would you give the pearls back to me?”
“Oh, no, Daddy,” she repeated night after night. “I love my pearls too much.”
The bedtime conversation continued for a great length of time. Finally came the day when the child realized that she loved her dad more than she loved her pearls. That very night, when he began to ask, “Would you ever give …” she interrupted.
“Oh, yes, Daddy!” she exclaimed. “You can have the pearls back!”
With that, the dad took the simulated pearls, pulled a string of genuine pearls from his pocket, and held the two strands up to the light.
“Baby,” he said, “can you see the difference? The old pearls are pretty, but look! These new ones shine more brightly. That’s because the old ones were made by man. These new genuine pearls are a part of God’s great and amazing creation.”
The Priceless Pearl
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:45-46).
This is one of Jesus’ shortest parables, yet its message may be applied to the Christian life from a few different angles. One frequent interpretation is that the merchant symbolizes Christ, who alone has the capacity to redeem the priceless pearl. And the pearl itself may represent His church or each of His followers individually.
A second interpretation is that the pearl represents all the wisdom and spiritual wealth of the gospel, while the man who gives his all to purchase it is one who dedicates his life to fully follow Jesus, to become a true disciple.
Following that latter application of the parable, the true seeker, by purchasing the priceless pearl, experiences the grace of salvation through faith: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
Of course, to seek, find, and purchase the priceless pearl, one forsakes a life of sin and accepts Christ as Savior. It means we now have the Spirit of the One Priceless Pearl living in us. We are, in fact. new creations, as Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
We are now disciples (followers) of Jesus, a relationship that requires a new way of living. For example, Jesus commands His followers to make more followers, i.e. disciples: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Priceless Principles
“Make disciples.” What exactly does that mean?
Noted discipleship trainer Kennon Vaughan points out that Jesus Himself established a template for living as a new creation, a disciple of Christ. Vaughan is founder and president of Downline Ministries, a discipleship ministry founded in 2002 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Downline’s mission is to facilitate authentic biblical discipleship in and through the local church by equipping young adult men and women to cultivate these principles of following Christ as they follow him: grasp the responsibility, learn God’s Word well, and prepare to make disciples.
Downline pursues that mission via multiple avenues including videos, live events, online resources, and on-campus curriculum. Vaughan asserts that a disciple of Christ commits time to these major principles:
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The Word – Jesus used it to rebuff Satan (Matthew 4).
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Prayer – Jesus spent much time in prayer (“In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God” Luke 6:12).
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Witnessing – Jesus shared the Good News wherever he went (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).
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Discipleship – Jesus instructed His followers to disciple others (Matthew 28:19-20).
Personal challenge
Now I am compelled to offer a personal confession: All too often, I fall far short of these discipleship principles in my daily life. I also want to conclude with a word to every one of us who claim the title of disciple. How does my life reflect the meaning of the word disciple?
As I challenge myself, I challenge brothers and sisters in Christ to diligently follow Jesus’ teachings and commands to go and make disciples.
