Small But Impactful

Do you know how a pearl is created? Often, the center of a pearl is a grain of sand, or something else, that works as an “irritant.” Sand gets into a clam, and the clam responds to this irritation by secreting a fluid that coats the sand, reducing its capacity to irritate the organism. Layer after layer of the fluid cakes the sand, and over time, a pearl is created. Something seemingly small and worthless creates a change that becomes of great value (“How Pearls Are Formed,” Thomas Jewelers, accessed June 27, 2022, https://www.jthomasjewelers.com/pages/how-pearls-are-formed). This “snowball effect” of transformation is the way Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is small but impactful (vv. 31–33). It is a catalyst for great change, even in the tiniest quantities.