A Call to Stand Apart

A Young Adult’s Encounter with Ellen White ... on Salvation

“Christ, the heavenly merchantman seeking goodly pearls, saw in lost humanity the pearl of price. In men and women, defiled and ruined by sin, He saw the possibilities of redemption.” ^{1Christ’s Object Lessons, 118.} AC 12.3

As a child I always fancied pearls. I loved their gentle curves and soft off-white luster. AC 12.4

I thought they were prettier than any diamond or ruby could ever be. So it didn’t surprise me that Ellen White compared our beloved Savior to my favorite jewel. What I didn’t expect was that she wrote that Christ saw in lost humanity “the pearl of price.” How could He find something so beautiful in me? But when I read her eloquent illustrations further I understood what, for me, is the true essence of salvation. Christ doesn’t seek me because I am lost. He doesn’t long to save me because He feels obliged to. He gives me salvation because He loves me. AC 12.5

Mrs. White thoughtfully wrote of Christ, our heavenly merchantman. Reading what she writes makes me rejoice daily for humanity because He finds the precious pearls He is seeking in our old, marred earth—because He sees the pearl in me. AC 12.6

Jennifer, age 22 AC 12.7