Found!

 When something is special to us, we hold it close to us. We don't want it out of our sight and we guard it all costs. Let's think about a cell phone for a minute. Most people take their phone with them everywhere. If you don't have it on you for some reason, you feel like a part of you is missing. When your phone is with you, you make sure you don't leave it behind. You make sure it's in your possession at all times. If you even think you lost or misplaced your phone, panic mode sets in real quick! You see, most people place a very high value on their cell phone. Let's look at a story found in Matthew 13:45-46 where we see something else that was valued. In the story, we see that someone (a merchant) is looking for something (pearls). A merchant is a person who buys and sells items to get money. In this case, the merchant was looking for fine pearls. Notice they were described as fine and he was looking for more than one because pearl is plural. Pearls are formed in shells of certain animals, such as oysters and is considered a gem. It's highly valued. You probably have seen (or wore!) pearl necklaces and bracelets before. I love mine! While the merchant was looking, he found one pearl. He wanted the pearl so bad that he sold everything he had to buy the pearl (v.46). The pearl was valuable. As mentioned, most of us value our cell phones. Something of value is important and worthwhile to us. What's important to you? What have you been searching for lately? Spending time with God and those we love, taking care and loving ourselves, and staying on the right path should be important to us. But are they really? Matthew 6:21 says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." What we put our time, energy and effort in shows what's really important to us and where our heart is. Let's get back to valuing right teaching. Proverbs 4:13 says, "Hold on to instruction: don't let it go. Guard it, for it is your life." Having wisdom about knowing how and when to say or do something is important. To get right instruction, we must get into the Word of God. Set aside time to read the Bible every day and make a decision to live what you read about. Let's get back to communicating right with each other. Talking about situations that need to be addressed is important in all relationships. Ephesians 4:29 reminds us that what we say needs to build others up. We can talk about different issues without tearing people down. Let's find friends that are going on the right path we are. Let's find online resources, radio stations and television shows that encourage and help us. Let's find social media posts and pages that help us remember the right things to value and that all humans are valuable. Just like the merchant found the pearl, we too need to find what's important and valuable. When we do, we will be able to say, "Found!"