January 4th, 2009 | 
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Key Concept for Spiritual Growth: Just as prophets served as mediators between God and His people, we, too, may serve God no matter how flawed we are.
Pearls are an accident of nature. Shells stunted in growth and shaped irregularly are most likely to produce pearls. For a pearl to form, an irritant must first enter the mollusk when the valves of the shell are open for breathing and eating. This irritant is less likely to be a grain of sand than to be a shell-boring parasite, decaying plant debris, molluskan egg, small crab, stray piece of food, or even small fish. The mollusk protects itself by depositing nacreous matter that coats the irritant in layers. Over time this imperfection becomes a pearl.
— www.fao.org/docrep/field/003/AB726E/AB726E11.htm
It is hard to imagine how something so flawed can yield something so beautiful. This should give hope to us when our weaknesses, imperfections, and failures threaten to overwhelm us. If God can take something stunted and oddly shaped like a mollusk and use it to create the perfection of a pearl, is He any less capable of bringing beauty and strength out of our flaws? “My grace is sufficient for thee…my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). So, the next time you are beset by difficulty or hardship or are overwhelmed by your spiritual deficiencies, remember: without the irritant, there would be no pearl.
Consider This:
- We already have learned that Moses feared to speak in front of Pharaoh because he felt his ability to speak was flawed.
- What aid did God promise him?
- What are some of the other weaknesses that other Bible leaders experienced that God helped them to overcome?
- How does this inspire your class members with hope that God can use them despite their flaws and weaknesses?
- How has God turned spiritual deformities into “pearls”?
- How has He used “irritants” to make us stronger?
Join us this week as Lorna Thurton leads and facilitates our discussion.
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