The Pearl
He Is – The Great I Am
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
MATTHEW 13:45–46 (NKJV)
A TREASURE
WORTH MORE
THAN ALL
THE WORLD
COULD EVER GIVE.
Scripture
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
MATTHEW 13:45–46 (NKJV)
“You’re my treasure.
You’re my rest.”
Lyrics (excerpt)
I was walking through my ordinary days
Counting all the little things I owned
Half a heart on every scattered trade
Never knowing I was almost home
Then I saw the pearl in the field
Everything I clung to had to yield
I would give it all
I would lay it down
For the treasure that I found
Jesus You’re the pearl in the field
Worth more than all the world could ever give
Take my heart my plans my every breath
You’re my treasure
You’re my rest
All I have I count as loss
For the joy beyond the cause
Every road I choose the cross
Just to have You
The Story Behind the Song
This song’s story goes back to 2020, a year many of us will never forget. It was a season of waiting and uncertainty for our family. Immigration delays, Covid restrictions and closed borders kept us apart, with all the heartache that came with that separation from loved ones. Alongside this, we were facing and navigating surgeries and chemotherapy while finding our feet in a new country and settling into new jobs.
In the middle of that chaos, with roughly 13,000 kilometres between us, my daughter got engaged.
Around the time of her engagement, her fiancé also bought her a beautiful pearl ring. When she shared it with me, the name came instantly: “The Pearl”.
The music suddenly had a story to carry, with Matthew 13 as its thread.
With this new piano composition, my focus began to shift from the chaos around us to the love and hope we still had in the midst of it. The music became “The Pearl”, and Matthew 13 brought a deeper meaning as I thought about the treasure we have in Jesus.
In this passage, Jesus describes a merchant searching for beautiful pearls. When he finds one pearl of great price, he sells everything he has and buys it. I find it beautiful that he recognises its worth. Having found this pearl, he is willing to part with everything else to make it his own.
It makes me think about how precious it is to know Jesus. We can spend so much of our lives searching, making plans and gathering things we hope will bring us happiness or security. Yet none of those things can take His place.
The pearl ring was an expression of love and commitment. As I think about the song now, that connection feels so fitting. The words are a declaration of love to Jesus, a willingness to give Him our whole heart and trust Him with our lives.
“Everything I clung to had to yield.”
Those words invite us to look honestly at what we are holding on to. Our plans, our dreams, the things we are afraid to lose. Surrender can be difficult, especially when we do not know what will come next. We may love Him deeply and still find it hard to open our hands.
But we can bring even that struggle to Him. We can ask Him to help us see His worth more clearly and trust Him with what matters to us.
“I would give it all.
I would lay it down.
For the treasure that I found.”
That is the heart of this song. Jesus, I want You to have first place in my life. Take my heart, my plans and my every breath. Help me to choose You in the ordinary moments as well as the difficult ones.
My prayer is that as you listen, you will pause and remember how precious He is to you. Wherever you find yourself today, may this song help you draw close to Him and make these words your own:
“You’re my treasure.
You’re my rest.”
The Treasure Worth Everything
Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of Heaven as something so precious that when it is truly seen, everything else changes in value.
In Matthew 13, He tells of a man who discovers treasure hidden in a field and, for joy, sells everything he has to possess it. He then speaks of a merchant who finds one pearl of great price and sells all that he has to buy it.
The point is not that we can purchase Jesus or earn the Kingdom. It is about worth. When we truly see who He is, everything else begins to take its proper place.
There are things we hold tightly: plans, dreams, security, possessions, even the picture we have created of how our lives should look. Sometimes we do not realise how much we are holding until Jesus asks us to open our hands.
Paul expressed something similar when he wrote that he counted everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8). This does not mean that the people and good things God has given us have no value. It means that nothing takes His place.
Jesus becomes the treasure by which everything else is measured.
And perhaps that is the question this song leaves with us: If I have Jesus, have I recognised what I have found?
The heart of The Pearl is not really about giving things up. It is about discovering Someone whose worth is so great that surrender no longer feels like loss. We lay things down because we have found something greater.
Jesus, You are my treasure. You are my rest.
Pause and Reflect
- What are the things you are tempted to hold on to instead of surrendering to Jesus?
- In what area is the Lord inviting you to let go and choose His kingdom above all else?
- How can you keep your gaze on Jesus, the true treasure, in your everyday life?
A Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are the pearl of great price.
Help me to see Your incomparable worth above everything else. Give me a willing heart to lay down what I cling to, and to choose You, again and again. Be my treasure, be my rest. Amen.