The Pearl of Great Price

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.” Matthew 13:45,46.

There was a wealthy merchant who lived in London. He ran an honest business by importing goods from far away countries for sale in his country. His business was extremely successful and he had built up quite a large sum of money in his bank account. He had purchased a large and beautiful house in the country. He also built and lavishly furnished a splendid mansion in the city. As he reached sixty years of age he decided it was time to retire and enjoy the rest of his life in peaceful pleasure, spending his money freely, in order to indulge himself.

He sold his successful business for another fortune to add to the fortune he had already accumulated. He then retired. He had never married. He had his halls, his living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, his library and cabinets to store items that he had collected over the years. The floors were covered with the richest carpets, the furniture was the most exquisite, the walls were adorned with splendid mirrors and with classic paintings, and fine linen decorated everything.

He had carriages, horses, grooms, and servants at his command. Books, pictures, and engravings were at hand to interest him. The daily and weekly newspapers and magazines brought to his table all the news of the great world, and his friends and his acquaintances paid him homage. How happy must the man be who has all this!

But he was not happy. He had no aim in life any more. He had no reason to live. The zest with which he read the newspapers when he was a merchant, he had lost now that he ceased to be involved in the merchant trade. Before, a storm, a fleet or a pestilence along the Mediterranean shores, was full of interest to him, because he had investments there. Now, they were of no importance to him. Before he used to watch the views and aims of government with searching scrutiny, because his destiny was bound up with theirs. The parliamentary debates were of greatest interest before as they indicated British policy, but that to him now ceased to be an object of importance. He had achieved his fortune, his work was finished, and his destiny was fulfilled.

Soon, every thing and place appeared to him one uniform and universal blank. His beautiful apartments were unused, his carriage and horses unemployed, his books unread, his newspapers unopened, his meals untasted, and his clothes unworn. He had lost all enjoyment of life, and contemplated suicide.

One Saturday night he resolved to get up early on Sunday morning, before the people in town stirred into activity, and make his way to Waterloo Bridge to jump into the river.
At three o’clock, he set out on his final journey, and had nearly reached the bridge with the shadows of night protecting him from being seen by anyone, when he saw a person sitting down up ahead on the bridge. Amazed at being seen by any one, he came closer to see who this person was. He saw a young man crouching low in front of him wearing tattered clothing. He appeared to be a miserable man, covering his head in shame.

“What are you doing here?” Asked the retired merchant.
“I have a wife and family, whom I can’t help from starving, and I am afraid to go and see them. Last night I knew they would be put out into the streets and I didn’t want to go home,” replied the man.
“Take that,” replied the merchant, giving him his wallet, with gold and silver in it. “How much more useful this will be to him, than in my pockets in the water,” thought the merchant.
“God bless you, sir -God bless you, sir.” Exclaimed the man several times, kneeling before the astonished merchant.
“Stop,” said the merchant, “do not overwhelm me so much with your thanksgiving – but tell me where you live.”
“In Lambeth, sir.”
“Then why are you here this morning?” said the merchant.
“I am ashamed to tell a gentleman like you,” said the man.
“Why so?” replied the merchant.
“Well, sir,” replied the man, “as I had not one single dollar, and did not know how to get one, I came here to drown myself, although I knew it was a terrible thing to do.”

The merchant was astonished and appalled, and after a long silence, said, “Sir, I arn a wealthy man, with more riches than I know what to do with, and yet I am so miserable that I came here this morning for the same purpose as you. There’s something more in this than I can understand right now. Let me go with you to see your family.”
The man made every excuse to hinder the merchant, but the merchant insisted on going. There was nothing that would stop him.

“Why do you not want to go home?” asked the merchant.
“Well I am miserably poor and wretched – and, for all I know, my wife and children are on the street right now,” he replied.
“Why are you out of work?” continued the merchant.
“I used to groom horses for the stage-coaches,” said the man, “but since the railroads have been built, the stage coaches are no longer used and many men, like me, have no work.”

They plodded slowly on their way for two miles with rubble and run down buildings on either side of the road, through a rough section of town. At last they came to an old house. Suddenly an old woman who had been looking out the window, came out of the house, and began yelling at the men. This lady was the landlord to whom the young man owed several month’s rent. She was yelling and cursing, until the young man passed something from his hand into hers. This silenced her immediately, and as the merchant watched she became quite friendly and civil towards him.

The young man ran quickly up-stairs, leaving the merchant and the woman together to talk. The merchant could clearly see that the only crime that this young man had committed was that he was out of work and very poor. He told the woman who he was and promised to see that she was paid what was owed to her. He then asked her to cook breakfast for the whole family and supply them with anything they needed and he would pay the bill.

The young man returned, and the merchant went upstairs to see, for the first time, the poor family in rags, dirt, and misery. He comforted them with hope of better days, and invited them to the meal that was being cooked for them downstairs. After the meal the merchant took the young man with him into town and loaded a cart with bed, bedding, clothes, furniture and food for him to take to his family.

When the young man went home, the merchant for the first time reflected on all that had happened that day. He was no longer miserable himself. Doing good for this family brought comfort to his soul. Now, he resolved that the way to true happiness was in doing good for others. He resolved from now on to do good to others, to prevent the necessity for drowning himself.

He took this young man and gave him a job in one of his own stables, removed the family from the old house they were living in and placed them in a nice, neat cottage, sending the children to school. Soon he went into town in search of misery to relieve, and was led to consider the cause of the misery – sin. He turned to God and found Him, and sought to turn his fellow sinners also to the Lord.

He had been a merchantman seeking goodly pearls, and having found the pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it; and the retired earthly merchant became an active heavenly merchant.