31st January 2017

I’m sure that if Jesus told his famous parable of the pearl in our day, he may well have used The Blue Mauritius. The Blue Mauritius is a postage stamp of enormous rarity and value, issued in 1847, in the denomination of two pence, and bearing the profile head of Queen Victoria. I can understand why collectors would willingly trade all the stamps in all their stamp albums just to acquire it. From a collectors point of view, it is the holy grail of philately. From a mercenary point of view, it is to be set up for life.

When Jesus told his story, the object of great worth was a fabulous pearl without equal. When a man found it, he sold his whole pearl collection just to acquire it. The Blue Mauritius made me realise just how eagerly that pearl-trader would have been to make both the disposal and the acquisition. Not wondering whether or not it was a good trade. Not vacillating between ‘should I’, ‘shouldn’t I’. Just super keen, and super anxious, until the trade was made.

And that’s the whole point of Jesus’ story. The Kingdom is so worth it, so worth acquiring, that upon seeing its value, a person would willingly, even eagerly, part company with all that he has – name, reputation, ambition, alliances, etc., – in order to acquire it. For that’s the value of finding Truth. It sets you up, not just for life, but forever.

DM 31^st January 2017