Date sent: Thu, 11 May 2000 09:41:19 -0700 Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Precedence: bulk Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Pearls were one of the first gems to be worn by man. The Chinese refer to > them in ancient writings as the soul of the oyster. In Biblical times and > today, pearls are a status symbol of the elite. So precious are pearls that > John writes in Revelation 21, the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven, the > dwelling place throughout eternity for all of the saints, will have 12 gates > each made of a single pearl. So where do pearls come from? > > Pearls come from oysters, mussels, and clams from both freshwater and > saltwater. The pearl itself actually begins as an irritant. Sand, a pebble, > or a pesky parasitic organism gets inside the oyster's shell. To reduce the > irritation, the oyster coats the intruder with layers of a solid, slick > material called nacre. > The nacre is composed of two components: aragonite and a glue-like substance > called conchiolin which cements the layers together. Natural pearls of high > quality are rare and in the past divers would risk their lives diving for > them. > > Since fake pearls and true pearls look alike, how can you tell the > difference? If you put a real pearl in your mouth and slosh it softly across > your teeth and it feels totally smooth - its a fake! The real thing feels > slightly gritty, slightly imperfect. > > Our imperfect souls, after an encounter with Christ, are covered by HIS > blood layer by layer and are made white and pure in God's eyes like precious > pearls. Our slightly gritty nature, our imperfection is made whole and pure, > precious and priceless through Jesus. From the outside we may look no > different than anyone else, but GOD knows the REAL thing from a fake. > > Cdr Jen > > > > > > > > > _______ > To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe rangernet" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > "Eat the hay & spit out the sticks! - A#1's mule" RTKB&G4JC! > http://rangernet.org Autoresponder: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > _______ To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to http://rangernet.org/subscribe.htm or to unsubscribe without web access, send "unsubscribe rrgold" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To post to RangerNet, please join RangerNet first (go to http://rangernet.org/subscribe.htm). You can then unsubscribe from RangerNet again if you want to go back to getting RRGold posts only.
