Near the beach of a South Pacific atoll, on the floor of a secluded lagoon there is a coral reef. One day I went scuba diving there and I was astounded by the size of a bed of oysters I discovered in an almost hidden alcove of the colorful reef. I know some of those oysters have lived there for their whole lifetime - which can be more than thirty years just doing what oysters do.

Being curious, I swam over close to the oyster bed and spoke to one of the largest of the oysters. I asked him to tell me about his lifetime experiences in that beautiful, quiet South Pacific lagoon. I fully expected him to tell me his life had been a life of: peace, tranquility, and exquisite, unsurpassed beauty. To my amazement, his story was quite the opposite.

Son, he/she said (oysters are hermaphrodites), Ive had a lot of personal turmoil and heart-rending trouble down here over all of these years! As I recall, it all started back when I was a teen-agerhe paused, and I blurted out: TROUBLE! What kind of trouble could you possibly have all you do is lay there in that peaceful bed, in your strong, protective shell with the other oysters day after day, year after year. Tell me about the trouble you have had, I cant imagine what it could be.

Well, son said the aged oyster, with a slow, contemplative voice, one day as a youngster, my shell was suddenly contaminated, invaded and irritated by something foreign. At the time, I didnt know what it was but I knew for sure that it was there, in my flesh causing me terrible pain. Later, I discovered it was a grain of sand, a single piece of ordinary sand. It was to me what I think men like you would call a thorn in the flesh. It hurt me with a pain that seemed to radiate into my whole being, with a terribly painful constant, irritation. I tried to get rid of the grain of sand by opening my shell to dislodge it with the flow of seawater but that did not work, no matter how much I tried I could not get rid of it and the pain was awful to the point of being - unbearable.

Then, said the oyster, I got an idea. I thought of something I could do to at least ease the pain for a time. Heres what I did. With a supreme effort and force of will I moved some of my mucous-like nacre - the substance I use when I seal my shell closed - toward that painful irritant. Slowly, very slowly I was able to surround the grain of sand completely with my nacre. Immediately, the terrible pain subsided and after awhile, I had some relief. Then, a few months later, the pain returned. You might describe it as being like the pain of a terrible toothache. This time, said the oyster, I knew what to do. I told my system to send another coating of nacre to the place where the grain of sand was lodged in my flesh. Again, the pain stopped. Now, I have to admit to you that the pain caused by that grain of sand has been with me as an ever-constant pain. In short, it has continued to plague and hurt me for these many, many years of my long life.

But now, when I feel the pain beginning again, I know what to do. I send over another batch of nacre, surround the grain of sand and coat it again. By now, and this is many years later, there must be hundreds of layers of nacre coating that irritatingly terrible grain of sand that is still lodged in my flesh like a thorn.

Then, the wise old oyster said to me: by the way, would you like to see what that grain of sand, the source of all of my pain over these many years, looks like? I wasnt sure what to say, but not wanting to perhaps give him more pain by hurting his feelings I agreed to let him open his shell and show me what I expected to be a very ugly wound.

Slowly he opened his shell, and there, imbedded in his flesh I saw one of the largest, most beautiful, iridescent and most perfectly formed spheres Id ever seen in my whole life! I said: Mr. Oyster I want you to know the result of all of your pain and suffering has created a treasure that will live foreverit will live in beauty long after your flesh has died! You should be very proud because, through all of your years of trouble and struggle to overcome the pain - you have created the most beautiful pearl Ive ever seen in the whole world!

Later, as I sat on the beach with sand running through my fingers in the shade of a palm tree near the edge of that South Seas lagoon, I thought to myself: The old oysters story reminds me of the great price of pain and suffering the living Lord paid for our redemption when he willingly went to the cross for us.

As the oyster a living thing, formed that pearl of great price with its own flesh, so Jesus with his great sacrifice on the cross can take away our, irritations, our pains - all of our sins. Then. At our simple request, he gives us everlasting life in eternity with him - a treasure far more precious than even - a pearl of great price.

(Matt: 13:46)