Wrestling Through Offenses in Prayer + “A Thing of Beauty”
A Thing of Beauty.
(Entry 24 from “Unedited: Hope & Healing Through the Simple Habit of Bible Reading and Prayer”)
Don’t worry, He’s just forming a thing of beauty…
“Those who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls.” –Charles Spurgeon
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls; who when he had one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” –Jesus (Matthew 13:45-46)
From Wikipedia: “Pearls are formed inside the shell of certain mollusks as a defense mechanism against a potentially threatening irritant such as a parasite inside the shell, or an attack from outside that injures the mantle tissue. The mollusk creates a pearl sac to seal off the irritation. Pearls thus are the result of an immune response…” Also of note: “Pearls are formed around displaced cells. Such displacement may occur via an injury.”
OK…there are a million thoughts that could be spun from that and a million things one could write about that. Oh my.
The other morning, the image of an open oyster with an enclosed pearl, and the phrase, “Don’t worry, He’s just forming a thing of beauty,” popped into my head. The illustration here is not nearly as cute as I’d seen it in my mind’s eye, but true, nonetheless.
To quote an anonymous “pinner,” from Pinterest, “NO GRIT. NO PEARL.”
It is interesting to note that a pearl is formed as a “defense mechanism” due to:
--A potentially threatening irritant
--An attack from the outside that injures the mantle tissue
Pearls are an immune response. The mollusk within the oyster shell takes the irritant or injury that could be life-threatening and covers it over and over again with the iridescent substance known as “nacre.” It seals off the thing that is threatening its survival over a period of time by a process of repeated covering. The mollusks goal is not to “make” a pearl. The mollusks goal is to live in spite of the irritant. Its goal is to survive the attack. Its goal is to outlive the injury. And in that process of covering, of defense, of surviving, and unbeknownst to the mollusk, a thing of beauty and a thing of value is being formed. The “defense mechanism” and “immune response” are for the survival of the organism, but in the process of defending and surviving, beauty is created. The very thing that threatened its life becomes a thing of immense beauty and great worth.
So it is with life. I am convinced that the greatest irritations, the worst attacks, the deepest injuries, and the most intense sufferings become the basis and core of the most beautiful things in our lives. When we choose to cover the pain in prayer; to cover the struggle with love; to allow God’s mercy to cover flaws, failures, and imperfections, over time, and through that painstaking process, immense, iridescent beauty and high value are being formed. Through this process of trying to survive, we discover that “this thing” (whatever it may be) is “not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified.” (John 11:14)
The thing that could have destroyed you becomes a jewel, a treasure. It becomes a beautiful reminder of the goodness and preservation of God in spite of the irritant; in spite of the injury.
In seeing it this way, it seems that pearls are actually scars. Scars that are a showpiece of the grace and love of an amazing God. Pearls are, in a sense, beautiful scars, and, as it occurred to me recently, scars are beautiful because they are proof that the wound was not fatal. Pearls are proof of survival. Pearls are evidence that the mollusk was victorious. The injury happened. The irritant was there, but it became a treasure. The covering process took “what was meant for evil” and saw that “God meant it for good.” The pain allowed the formation of the pearl.
It is also interesting to note that (from pearls.com): “…when natural pearls are drilled into to be use in jewelry, there’s often some really gross ‘ooze’ that comes out.” This is because of the original irritant—parasite, injury, or otherwise—that the pearl was formed around. The most beautiful, “iridescent” lives we see and encounter were made that way by things we will never see: battles they won quietly, losses they endured privately, tears they shed alone, prayers prayed secretly, suffering, struggle, and setback faced bravely. We see the resplendent qualities of their life, but will probably never realize the depth of injury and irritation required to live brilliantly. At the core of those lives there are more than likely dark days, lonely moments, and bone-crushing pain. If you could “drill in,” you would see it is their suffering, their will to survive that produced the beauty seen. They would probably ‘ooze’ a little if you could see deep down. Those brilliant lives are thus because they survived; because they overcame. That “core of the pearl” will look different for everyone, but, in the end, we see that the irritant was overcome, the injury was “not unto death,” and beauty was formed. In that realization, we can say with David, “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” Psalm 118:17
Thank you, God, that it is your grace that covers and produces the pearl from the pain.
Recommended listening: The “Offended” Series by Rev. Joseph Hanthorn
Recommended reading: Bait of Satan by John Bevere
