There is one gem in the character of Jesus that all you young people would do well to imitate. I mean the _pearl of obedience_. Though He knew that God was His Father, and the temple was His Father’s house, He went down to Nazareth with Joseph and Mary, and was "_subject unto them_." That was the keynote of His life. To obey was better than sacrifice; and even at the tragic close He was "obedient unto death." Is that the ornament, children, with which you are trying to adorn your character? Are you in loving subjection to your parents on earth, and are you learning to be in subjection to your Father in heaven? That can only be obtained in one way—the way Jesus won it—the way of self-sacrifice and self-denial. Every pearl is the product of a pain. Jesus _learned obedience_ by the things which He _suffered_ (Heb. v. 8). II.—THE VALUE OF PEARLS. The most valuable pearl-fisheries are to be found in the Persian Gulf and on the western coast of Ceylon. The annual produce of the former is said to be over £200,000; while that of the latter is set down at even a higher sum. The value of single pearls has sometimes been enormous. Those who have read Rider Haggard’s books will remember the graphic way in which he describes an incident in the life of Cleopatra. That unscrupulous woman, at a supper with Mark Antony, took from her ear one of a pair of pearls of the value of £80,000, and having dissolved it in vinegar, swallowed the absurdly precious draught; and she would have done the same with its fellow had it not been rescued from her wanton pride. But however valuable pearls may be, there are other things more valuable still. Holy Scripture mentions three. (1.) *Wisdom*.—"No mention shall be made of coral or of pearls; for the price of wisdom is above rubies" (Job xxviii. 18). The wisdom here referred to is the divine wisdom—the plan or purpose of God exhibited in the universe. But the same truth applies to human wisdom—the gaining of knowledge and discretion in human affairs. The price of this is far above rubies. It is not to be had for pearls. How then shall a boy get it? Only by hard work and diligent application. He must shun the company of the idle and the frivolous, and give his time and thought to the companionship of books. He must show diligence at school, obedience in the home, and reverence in the church. All his lessons must be faithfully learned, every task must be faithfully performed. And if he learn thus early to sow well in youth, a harvest of intelligence and wisdom will be the reward. And this will be a possession more valuable than pearls, for "Just experience shows in every soil That those who _think_ must govern those who _toil_."