Nice Tomato: Wouldn't You Rather have a Pearl?

By David Ryser

Imagine if someone offered you the choice between a tomato and an investment grade pearl.  And what if they were the same price?  Which would you choose?  This is a classic no-brainer.  Yet many Christians, perhaps most Christians (maybe the vast majority of Christians), might choose the tomato--spiritually speaking.  Why would we do that?

 Perhaps a short Bible lesson will clarify what I mean.

Matthew 13 records a series of parables Jesus taught concerning the Kingdom of Heaven (also referred to as the Kingdom of God in the gospels of Mark and Luke for reasons we will not consider here).  In Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus tells two parables (actually one parable from two different perspectives) concerning one aspect of the Kingdom of God that Christians would do well to heed.  These are the parables of The Pearl of Great Price and The Treasure in the Field.  In both cases, the one finding these items goes out and sells everything he has to obtain them.

At this point, our preaching and teaching takes one of two roads--both of which involve the cost paid to obtain the prize, and both of which lead to a misunderstanding of the lesson of the parables--either that the cost of obtaining the Kingdom (and, by extension, Jesus Himself) is very great (thus emphasizing the great cost) or that the cost of obtaining the Kingdom is great, but not as great as the cost of serving sin, self, and the devil (thus minimizing the cost).  The problem with taking either of these roads is that the parables are not about cost, and making them about cost can lead us to a deceptive conclusion.  An illustration of what I mean might be helpful here.

Suppose you enter a marketplace with $1,000.00 in your pocket.  You begin to shop at the various stalls of merchandise.  At a produce stand, you begin to look over the fruits and vegetables displayed for sale.  You find a beautiful, ripe tomato and take it to the man behind the counter and ask, “How much is this tomato?”  The man answers, “The cost is $1,000.00.”  Now, you’ve found a nice tomato to be sure, but $1,000.00 seems like a steep price to pay for a tomato.  You put the tomato back and pick out a cucumber.  “How much is this?” you ask. “$1,000” he answers.  You continue shopping and come upon a bakery. After admiring the goods inside, you select a loaf of bread, take it to the counter, and ask, “How much is this loaf of bread?”  The man answers, “The cost is $1,000.00.”  In the blink of an eye, the bread is back on the shelf, and you are out the door.  You walk into a clothing store and find a nice t-shirt (God’s Gym:  His Pain, Your Gain).  You take the shirt to the register and ask, “How much is this shirt?”  The man answers, “The price is $1,000.00.”

Do I need to describe what happens next?

  As you make your way through the market, you come to realize two things about this market:  the cost of everything here is $1,000.00, and you cannot leave the market until you have made a purchase.  As you continue shopping, you notice that some others have made purchases.  Most of them seem sad, disappointed, or even angry.  You persist in shopping, and at the far back corner of the market, you come upon a Mercedes dealership.  You walk in and begin to admire the cars on display in the showroom.  One deluxe model especially catches your eye.  On a whim, you ask the salesman, “How much is this high-end model car?”  The man answers, “The price is $1,000.00.”  As you drive out of the market you are happy.  Why?  You just spent $1,000.00, the same as everyone else.  Why are you happy when they are sad?  In both cases, the cost is the same; whatever you’ve purchased, you’re still out the $1,000.00.

The answer to this question is relatively straightforward.  Neither the parables nor the little story about the market are about cost; they are about value.  The cost is irrelevant.   Jesus tells us that the men in the parables sold everything they had (their lives) to obtain the pearl/treasure (Jesus and His Kingdom).  The reason they were willing to do this--with joy--is that in making the purchase, they received back so much more than they paid.  They paid the price because the return was greater than the expense.  Likewise for the story of the market:  the marketplace is the world, the price we pay is our life, and the Mercedes is the prize.

This brings us to the deception:  the belief that the cost we pay for the pearl/treasure is the issue--it is not.  Whatever we get out of life will cost us our life.  The cost is the same.  The issue is value.  We are going to spend our life on something and then leave this world.  Some of us will leave sad, and some of us will leave happy.  Most Christians I know who are unhappy in life are unhappy because they have spent their lives and have bought only a tomato.  It may be a nice tomato (job, cars, houses, possessions, money, ministry, revival, family, etc.), but it’s still a tomato.  These are good things--some are very good things; but if we leave this life without having obtained the Kingdom of Heaven and a personal/intimate relationship with Jesus, we have gotten much less out of life than we paid for it.

By the way, too many of us serve God because we desire the reward, never realizing Jesus is the reward (Genesis 15:1).  Without that intimate relationship with Him, the other things are not worth what we will pay for them.

One last item cries out for consideration (although I prefer not to because of the grief I’m going to get for it).  As I added family to the tomato list, I could hear the sound of sacred cows mooing and stampeding to the nearest concordance to make a case that the family is instituted by God, that He blesses and holds the family in high regard, and that I am a godless moron for besmirching the sacredness of the family (I resent being characterized as a godless moron--I am not godless).  Before consigning me to eternal perdition, I would ask you to prayerfully consider the following scriptures:  Matthew 10:34-37; Matthew 19:29; Luke 14:26 (among others), and then you can e-mail me and let me have it (in Christian love, of course).  The real tragedy is that too many of us put some of the other things on the tomato list ahead of family.  My point is that whatever else we acquire in this life, we must obtain Jesus (the Pearl) to find fulfillment and joy.

I suggest we all come to know/experience Him first and then enjoy all of the other blessings He wants to bestow upon us (Mathew 6:33).  Procure the Pearl, and then eat all of the tomatoes He gives you--for free.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Mathew 6:33).

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com