LightGrams
November 17, 2016
Volume 20, Number 37
An incredible story was reported by several news sources earlier this month. An 82-year-old man found the wedding ring he had lost three years earlier. That in itself is not odd, but where he found it was astonishing: It was wrapped around a carrot.
The ring was lost as he worked in his garden. At the time, his wife assured him that the ring would be found; they had just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. In the intervening time the wife died. His recent find understandably prompted some reflection on his part: “You reap what you sow,” he told reporters.
What are the odds that a lost ring could be found in such a way? Evidently it’s not as great a long-shot as you might imagine, for a similar story appeared in 2011. A woman in Sweden also pulled up a carrot from her garden and found on it the wedding band she had lost in 1995.
Such incidents capture our attention because they are so unimaginable. But what if someone predicted such an odd event that immediately came to pass?
In Matthew 17 Peter was asked whether Jesus would pay the temple tax. Peter reported this question to Jesus, and Jesus said (in addition to other things) that He would pay the tax. But where would the money come from?
Jesus’ instructions to Peter must have been surprising: “… go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you” (Matthew 17:27).
We are not told of Peter’s response, or whether a coin was found in a fish’s mouth, but most of us infer that it happened. On two other occasions Jesus spoke of improbable events that turned out “just as He had said to them” (Luke 19:32;22:13). I personally have no doubt that the fish was waiting to be caught by Peter – with a coin in its mouth!
In a note in the Zondervan Study Bible, D.A. Carson wrote that even in modern times fish with coins in their mouths have been caught in the Sea of Galilee. That falls into the same category as carrots with wedding rings. But did anyone ever predict that such discoveries would be made?
Some things are concealed from humans, but not from the Lord. That truth, demonstrated on multiple occasions in Jesus’ life, helps us pay closer attention to this statement from Hebrews 4:13: “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” We will stand before Jesus one day in judgment. He will know clearly how we have lived.
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.
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Copyright, 2016, Timothy D. Hall. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New King James Version (Copyright, 1990, Thomas Nelson, Inc.).
“LightGrams” is produced by the Central Church of Christ, 2722 Oakland Avenue, Johnson City, Tennessee, 37601, and is written by Tim Hall, minister. It is sent free of charge every Thursday to all who request it. To subscribe or to receive more information, write to “[email protected]” (our E-mail address), to the U.S. mail address above, or call (423) 282-1571.
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