Serendipity means the ability to find delightful surprises in unexpected places. This writer had a serendipitous experience one recent Lord’s Day.
After reviewing the message one last time I went to put the Bible (B) and Message Folder (MF) in the usual carrying bag. Lo, and behold, no room existed. Judy had filled it with materials needed for worship. Should I carry B and MF separately? I had for many years. Should I ask Judy to make room? But she still ate breakfast. Instead, I removed from the bag what prevented inserting the B and MF, then snugged in both. Then came the serendipity—from which we also get our word serene—I found I could fit the other stuff around B and MF. A parable had its nativity! Putting the essentials of worship in the bag first gave room for the auxiliary materials. Practical meaning: if we put God in Christ first, we’ll enjoy the balanced daily life all want but so few have by failing to do so. As Jesus said in the Parable of the Soils, trying to grow a Christ-centered life in thorny soil results in unproductive discipleship Matthew 13:22. Having one’s mind cluttered with inferior intentions stifles the Spirit’s work. It’s like little Jughead in the Snuffy Smith cartoon. He stood at the door ready to depart for school—pockets and hands full of THINGS, including a frog. Aunt Loweezy asks him if he has his books. “Balls of fire, auntie”, he replies, “I can’t think of everything.” By having SO MANY earthly interests, many people don’t think of God. The meaning of this parable is, then: put God first and fit everything in life around Him! Having him first will monitor any interest we may have. It’s amazing how Jesus fills us so completely we lose interest in the many things spiritual emptiness will find to STUFF us, without nourishing, us!
0 Comments
This story comes from the Lincoln Courier Herald, Lincoln, Illinois, 12/16/1919. My dad was 24 years old, my mom 20. It was re-printed in Roots and Branches, published and e-mailed to members of the Logan County Genealogical and Historical Society.
A Chicago lapidary worked in his shop when a laborer entered. He withdrew a “rough red stone” from his pocket and asked the lapidary to cut and polish it. Stunned by what he saw, he asked where he got the stone. The man explained that his father had found it in Hungary 50 years before. He considered it a “pretty pebble.” The man was surprised to find it in his luggage when he arrived in America; thought his mother chucked it in. It had been in his family since: kids played with it; baby cut his teeth on it; a rat once dragged it into its hole, where they later found it. He had lost it a number of times but always found it again. It became his “lucky stone.” A few nights earlier he had a dream that it was a diamond and worth a lot of money. The lapidary told him: it wasn’t a diamond; it was a ruby, worth between $100,000 and $250,000. It was later cut into a ruby of 23,940 carats. The man had been a laborer since coming to America. His father in Hungary had been a laborer all his life. They had both toiled to keep body and soul together. And all the while owned an incredibly valuable stone. A good story is only as worthwhile as its spiritual application. So, here goes. The man was like the one Jesus said stumbled across hidden treasure. But the ruby corresponds with the pearl merchant’s search for the ONE invaluable pearl. Jesus is the Spiritual Red Ruby, the White Pearl, the Perfect Diamond, the Spindletop Oil Well. You’ll never find anyone like him, for he’s in a class BY HIMSELF, no one else around! Seek him; he’ll let you find. Own him; he’ll be your Priceless Savior and Lord. Serve him; whatever you do in his name remains a “forever treasure”, now and in the world to come. |
Archives
January 2024
Categories
All
|