Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought
it (Mt.13:45-46).
The story is told of a young boy who had worked hard to
build a model boat. The boat was beautiful and the boy was pleased as he looked at what he
had made. The day came that the boy had long awaited, the day he would take his boat to
the lake at the city park and set it afloat in the water. With excitement, he set the boat
in the water and gave it a push. But in his excitement he pushed it a little too hard and
the boat soon moved out beyond the boy's reach. In a short time the boat was pushed along
by a breeze and moved further and further until it faded from sight. The young boy was
heart-broken and ran home and told his father what had happened. His father assured him
they would go and by another boat--one even bigger and better than the one he had lost. The
next day, the boy was walking down the street when while he was passing a pawn shop
he noticed a model boat in the store window. But it was not just any boat, it was his
boat--the very one he had labored to build and had lost at the lake. The boy quickly ran
into the store and told the owner what had happened, but the store owner insisted that if
the boy wanted the boat he would have to pay for it. The price was not too great for the
boy as he gave the owner the money to buy back what was already his. For the boy thought
to himself, "This is my boat again. For I made it, and then it was lost, and now I
have found it and have bought it back again. And it is mine once more."
Sometimes, it seems that we forget the value that we hold in the eyes of our maker. We
look at our lives and sometimes let the circumstances persuade us that we have been all
but forgotten. There are those times when we are like the lost boat, adrift without a
sense of direction or purpose, and we might feel as though we are far and away from the
safety of a shore whereon our Maker stands--watching us move further away from Him.
But our Lord has not forgotten, and He misses the one who is lost while many are not. He
longs to bring back to Himself those who for some reason have drifted away and are not
where they belong. He has not forgotten, and He will leave the ninety nine to find the
one, and He notices just one that is missing among thousands who are not.
Sometimes we forget the price that was paid for us. We forget how great a love the Father
has for us that He would give His own Son so we might be in His Hands once more.
Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned;
neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God (Isa.43:1-3).
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