peace . love . joy

I was chatting with a good guy over msn one day. His little wee daughter and I share the same name - Megan.

And out of curiosity, I asked him if he knew what "Megan" meant. You know how names usually have meanings, and sometimes backgrounds, behind them. And besides, the good guy mentioned he and his wife prayed over what to name their girl and this name came to them. He said he did, and wondered if I knew, since I too was named "Megan".

"Megan" has two meanings, actually. The 'original' meaning is arguable since no one knows exactly where the name first surfaced.
In essence, here are the two meanings:
(Celtic) Strength, Might
(Welsh) Pearl

But then, the good guy raised a good point, a point I am glad he and his wife saw. If you take "Megan" to be of Welsh origin (which I do think so), then "Megan" really means pearl. You might be thinking "what? So what? What's so great about pearls, other than the fact that you like pearls?" Well, did you know that the word "pearl" appears in the Bible?

Matthew 13: 45-46 says:
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it."

The kingdom of heaven is the fine pearls, and there are debates over what the kingdom or pearl(s) refer(s) to. Some say it refers to Jesus Himself. Others, to the church. And still more, to heaven itself. In this vein, I would say this kingdom, or the pearl(s), can be taken to mean anything that points one to God.

This parable speaks of a person who accidentally stumbles upon the kingdom of heaven. And upon finding it, decides it is of utmost importance and value that he should want to possess it, whatever the cost. And so pursues it, regardless (monetary and otherwise), with all he has.

I may be reading this wrongly, but I think this parable may be read in two ways.

If I read it as how it is phrased, it may appear that the kingdom of heaven is metaphorized into the merchant and what he does, not the pearls. And the pearls could mean us, the dearly beloved creations of God. God finds us, and to Him, we are so precious, like pearls! And pays the highest price just so He could have us back again. A price no one on earth could ever imagine. A price not many can fully comprehend.

Remember "Megan" means pearl?

I saw myself in this parable, though I admit, I may be reading it wrongly. And that's why I personally felt mighty loved when I first came across this passage.

Though we all may know the Gospel and the account of Salvation through Jesus, God's Son, do you know it as a personal love story? Or do you know it as an unfeeling Truth that must be passed down?

It is Truth, no doubt. And it is of great importance that all should hear and know.

But I encourage you to see this as a personal love sticky from God to you. I believe Jesus remembered and saw each and every single one of us, by face and name and character and more than we can ever imagine, as He hung there and died for us. He died once for all. Each of us are included in that "all". And I do believe that that "all" is not a faceless mass of people. Each face is seen by Him as sharp as can be. And each face is not simply a face, but a person, with a name, and character, and likes and dislikes, and illnesses, and gifts, and talents...

He saw you as He died.

It was a conscious and painful gift and demonstration of the extent to which God would go just so the way would be open for us to be reunited with Him. But He also did give us the gift of choice.

We could choose to walk away. Or we could choose to love Him back.