Kindest Regards, Cage!
My apologies, I managed to overlook this thread until today. It was not intentional.
Matthew 13:4546
45. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
46. Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Whats this mean to you juantoo?
Good question. On a surface level, it would seem to hold merit as a simple logical and shrewd manner of investment...a worthwhile lesson unto itself.
On a deeper level, one might ask "what are the pearls, what is a pearl to me?"
What of the pearls cast before swine? (that we are adjured not to do?) Any association with the term "pearls of wisdom?"
Whether or not this is the absolute correct definition, it is the general direction I find myself pointed in. Taking Solomon's advice to seek wisdom as for hidden treasure (Proverbs 2), I find it easy to equate wisdom with treasure, gems and pearls. Paul brought forth a further understanding regarding wisdom in Romans, verses like 2:12 (as many as have sinned without the law die outside the law, as many as have sinned in the law are judged by the law) and 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (prove all things, hold fast that which is good).
I have laid out elsewhere my take on matters as far as who G-d deems worthy in His sight (as opposed to my personal judgement), that He is able to do good works in and through even non-Christians, exemplified by the parable of the Good Samaritan. Wisdom and love are universal, and it is by these we all know to be moral. We all, Christian and not, have the wisdom of the Heavenly Father written on our hearts in the form of the Golden Rule; "Do unto others what you would have done unto yourself."
So, while it seems I may have gone around my elbow to get to my tail to get to my explanation, the truth is that so much is intertwined, and only makes sense in context. In context, I see the pearl of great price as the ultimate wisdom. Not the wisdom of men, not the wisdom of esoteric mystery, not the wisdom of tradition...the wisdom of coming to the Father as trusting and openly loving as a child.
What one knows is not what will determine who gets into heaven so much as what one does with what one knows. There are brilliant intellects whose cunning and shrewdness will cost them a spot in heaven even though they attend church every weekend and give alms to the poor. And there will be the simple minded souls who haven't anything to give but their love, that will earn high estate in G-d's kingdom. Most of us fall somewhere in between, still searching for that pearl of great price, all the while gathering those pearls of wisdom that speak to us, in the hope of one day exchanging the collected lot for one simple and elegant wisdom...
That is what this parable means to me.