God seeks us; we do not seek Him. In the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price, Jesus Christ is the merchant, the price paid was His life, and the church is the pearl. The common view that the sinner is the merchant diligently searching for the Kingdom or Christ puts the seeker in control of his destiny and contradicts Scripture. Romans 3:11 says no one seeks after God, John 6:44 says no one comes to Christ unless the Father draws him, and Luke 19:10 says the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. John 15:16 adds, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you." Salvation is a gift of grace, and since we have nothing with which to buy it, no one can purchase it, as Peter told Simon Magus. The merchant's seeking means departing one place and arriving at another, as Christ left heaven for earth to pay the price. He does not stumble across us or act from grudging duty; He pursues us as a man courts a bride, giving all to possess us. The pearl's worth lies in the immensity of the cost paid, and He bought the church with His own blood so that He might present it to Himself holy and without blemish.