Matthew 13:45-46 (KJV)
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
To get a pearl the mollusk receives a foreign object within its tender flesh creating an irritant. As a reaction to the irritant, it secretes thousands of very thin concentric layers of nacre. The bigger the irritant the bigger the pearl. A pearl is created with a shimmering iridescence, luster and soft inner glow unlike any other gem on earth. Because the nacre is composed of microscopic crystals of calcium carbonate, aligned perfectly with one another, the light passing along the axis of one crystal is reflected and refracted by another to produce a rainbow of light and color. To extract that pearl the mollusk sometimes has to die.
How does this apply to us? Well Jesus is the Mollusk and we are the pearl! We have a rainbow of promises that reflects the love of God. In Hebrew, the word for mollusk is רכיכה. The letter meanings are: Man, open hand, nail, open hand, grace! Jesus opened both His hands, nailed on the cross, for us to receive what was in those hands: Grace. Jesus gave His life to make us a pearl of great price with His tender flesh on the cross, Luke 22:19! His suffering made us, the irritating foreign object, into a shimmering pearl of His light.
When the pearl comes into contact with sweat the luster is lost. To restore it, you need only to wash it with water. When we come into contact with the works of the flesh Galatians 2:16; 5:19-21, we lose our luster 2 Corinthians 4:6, but we need only wash ourselves with the word of God, John 15:3; Ephesians 5:26-27. One last amazing thing from the Hebrew for mollusk is this verse:
Genesis 12:3 (KJV)
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
The highlighted words above in Hebrew is מברכיך (literally meaning who bless you). Who is it that will bless Israel the most? Jesus. Now when you take away the suffixes of מ (meaning from) and ב (meaning in) you have the word mollusk! This is the hidden mystery of the Church: from and within the mollusk! What is in and from the mollusk? A pearl, and from Jesus, a pearl of great price, the Church! Glory to God! You and me! Praise Jesus for His words and His love towards us.