Eight riches we overlook every day
A pirate captain set out to retrieve a treasure chest he had buried, full of gold and silver—the booty he had plundered. It was hidden deep in a swamp at the center of the island. He and his first mate bravely entered the swamp and soon were up to their knees in water. Suddenly, the Captain banged his shin against something hard. He reached down and pulled up a treasure chest. Prying open the lock, he gazed upon the loot. “Arrr matey,” said the Captain, “That just goes to show ye, that booty is only shin deep!”
A California couple who are doing their best to remain anonymous were hiking along a trail they had walked almost every day for years, when they noticed an old can sticking out of the ground. It was the first of five cans, each packed with gold coins. 1,427 to be exact, dating from 1847 to 1894. Nearly all are in mint condition. Some are worth one million dollars apiece.
“We’d like to help others with some of this money,” the couple said. “There are people in our community who are hungry and don’t have enough to eat.” Whatever your names are, good for you.
A minister was invited for dinner at the home of a couple in his church. He enjoyed the meal immensely, but after he left, the wife said to her husband, “I think he stole our silver spoon!” A year later the couple invited the minister for dinner again. The wife was unable to resist. “Did you steal our silver spoon last year?” The pastor replied, “No. I just put it inside your Bible.”
I too have been guilty of sitting on a gold mine without knowing it. Of leaving the cover closed on this greatest of treasure chests. Here are a few of the riches we find there.
• We find what God is like and His plan for us.
• We find it’s the one thing we have on Earth that’s actually from Heaven.
• We find we are loved unreasonably, that our debt is paid.
• We find fulfilled prophecies.
• I find that thousands of years after being written it’s as fresh and relevant as ever.
• It is living, active and sharper than a two-edged sword.
• It teaches, inspires, rebukes, corrects, and trains me for right living.
• It’s the story of Jesus, the greatest story of love and grace ever written.
I invite you to wade in and open it up today
