LightGrams
June 21, 2018
Volume 22, Number 23
I know what it’s like to clean out a loved one’s house. Three years ago my sister, brother-in-law and I took on the task of emptying our parents’ house of its contents. As the process wore on, we were less interested in checking every item. We just wanted to get the job done!
Perhaps that explains why Ray Rhinehart donated his late mother’s collection of dolls to the American Cancer Society’s Discovery Shop in Santa Monica, California. Later the shop called Rhinehart to report than an envelope had been found inside one of the doll boxes. In the envelope was $36,000 cash! He had no clue the money was there.
A similar incident happened last year in Richardson, Texas. A worker at the Resale Shop for the Jewish Family Service discovered cash in the pocket of a black pea coat that a woman had donated after her husband’s death. The amount he had hidden in four envelopes was more than $17,000. She didn’t know about the stash.
What if I were to tell you that treasures were hidden in an object you almost certainly have in your home? Would you be interested? Would you start looking diligently?
It’s true; in the pages of your Bible there are treasures that may be unknown to you. It is just as we find in Psalm 119:72: “The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver.” Now that’s a treasure trove anyone would be giddy to find – and it’s within our reach.
The Wise Man who wrote Proverbs (it was almost certainly Solomon) used this image to encourage careful study of God’s words: “Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding; for her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold” (Proverbs 3:13,14).
There are things in this life that are worth more than money. Paul gave this counsel to people who value material wealth above all else: “Now godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6). On the other side is this truth: “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil …” (1 Timothy 6:10). We often see evidence of this in the headlines; someone’s life has been ruined because they won the lottery.
You want to talk about treasure? How about this statement: “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Lottery winnings can be exhausted, but the riches of God have no limits.
There are riches you’ll find in your Bible, “If you seek [God’s wisdom] as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures” (Proverbs 2:4). Let’s get busy and find them!
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, 2018, 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 “Tim@GraceMine.org” (our E-mail address), to the U.S. mail address above, or call (423) 282-1571.
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