A Pearl

Matthew and I are going through Revelation together and last night as we came to Revelation 21:21, it talks about the New Jerusalem and how the twelve gates were twelve pearls and the street of the city was pure gold. In Jon Courson's commentary, he said that "the pearl represents God's people. In Matthew 13, Jesus told the story of a man who sold everything to purchase a pearl. That's just what Jesus did. He gave everything He had - even His very life - to purchase us. This makes us the pearl - a fitting description, since a pearl is nothing more than an irritating grain of sand or a tiny parasite coated by the lustrous nacre of an oyster. We're irritating indeed, parasitic beyond question. But God robes us and covers us and thereby makes us trophies in order that all of creation throughout eternity might marvel at His grace."
You guys know those bookmarks that tell you what your name means, right? Growing up I had one of those in my Bible. Megan means "Pearl". I always took a little pride in that thinking, "oh how wonderful, a beautiful pearl". Little did I think about what a pearl really was growing up. With this description that Jon Courson gives, I am just a little irritating grain of sand or a parasite, but thankfully Jesus came and died for me and covers me with His grace and makes me a beautiful pearl! Kind of humbling, huh?