The Treasure and The Pearl: A Bedtime Story

By: Lauren Thomas

The little girl asked for a Bible story every night. Her mom couldn’t tell if this was an attempt to delay bedtime or a genuine interest in the Bible. On the chance that it was the latter, she couldn’t help but comply. That summer, the days stretched long, pushing bedtime back further and further, requiring shorter and shorter stories. The mom “took a page” from Jesus and began recounting His parables at bedtime. These were short and did not keep anyone up too much later, while still satisfying the little girl’s curiosity.

One night, as the little girl stared into her mother’s eyes, asking for a Bible story, the mom locked her daughter’s gaze a moment longer than usual. The parable came to mind as easily as if the Spirit had whispered it.

“I’m going to tell you about a pearl,” the mom said. As it was such a short parable, she reached for the nearby Bible, quickly finding the passage she needed, and read:

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, ⁴⁶ who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Matthew 13:44-46 ESV

“That was short!” The little girl seemed surprised.

 

“God’s kingdom is worth so much,” the mom explained, “that when we find it, we give up everything to have it.”

 

“Oh,” the girl said.

 

“And we are worth so much to God, that he sold all that he had to buy us. He gave up his only son, Jesus, because he loves us so much.”

 

“Oh,” the girl said again.

 

“Darling, you are the pearl. Goodnight.”

 

“And Mommy, you are the clam,” rejoined the girl.

 

The mom closed her daughter’s door and laughed to herself. The parable had been the one they both needed to hear. They both needed to be reminded of their value to their heavenly Father. But what is a pearl, but an irritant that has been turned into something beautiful by the clam or oyster? She thought about all the irritations of the day, and reimagined them as the forming of a pearl, the pearl of her daughter, the pearl of herself. And she offered a quiet prayer of gratitude to have found the Kingdom, to have been found by the Father, and for the irritants forming pearls in her life.

 

Reflection:

You are the pearl. You are dear and costly and prized to our Father. What does that feel like?

He is the treasure. He is worth all that we have just to obtain Him. What have you been willing to give up to obtain Christ?