Better then Bridges & Rubies

When you hear the words “Gold Rush” what come to mind? I mean I am not history major but I know that it involves a whole lot of people picking up their lives and moving them to a place in hopes of striking Gold but at a large violent stampede scale, kind of like 50% off sales at those crazy expensive, a little more reasonable but still expensive at 50% stores.  Either way, when people are seeking something of worth, it’s not usually a slow leisurely stroll, it’s usually a rush, a stampede, a “GET OUT OF THE WAY, WORLD!” - kinda hunt down. In my mind that is what seeking boils down to, relentless, driving desire for something that’s of worth.

 Proverbs 2: 4-6 in regards to wisdom says:

“and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,  then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God  For the Lord gives wisdom;  from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”  The picture he paints here is very similar to the one I drew earlier, seeking for treasure, looking for silver. But when it comes to wisdom, when it comes to pressing in, to digging deeper into God’s word, into his presence, tapping in to his wisdom and direction, you don’t see people running, arms flapping trying rushing in. Why is that? I asked myself that yesterday, looking at my own life, often days I am way more excited about anything else then spending time with God. I am more excited about getting my morning drink or seeing a familiar face then I am about being still and spending time with God. So looking at my life I have come up with two possible explanations. 

The first: The bridge analogy: So to give some context there is this bridge in Guelph and it is hands down my favorite place, I have been to it more times than I could possible count and just walking  across it seeing its complexly beautiful wooden structure gives me an inexplicable calm and joy. I can’t explain it but its where I would always go, it used to be fairly far away, I would drive the distance  frequently, just so I can stand on it and watch the beautiful river on either side, and just find a sense of happiness that no other earthly place has provided me. This year, I live steps away from the bridge, and I was beyond excited at first. But now days will go by as I step out of my house look out and see the bridge literally steps away but decided that I don’t have time or that the weather is kinda gross. And then the days I do go on the bridge, I am just so overwhelmed with, “WHY DON’T I DO THIS EVERYDAY.” It’s like I’ve forgotten the beauty that is so easily accessible to me now, like I have taken it for granted because now I don’t have to drive from the other side of Guelph and park.  It’s crazy, but I feel like that’s what we do sometimes with God. It’s like we forget the peace he brings us, the joy the love we feel. We are sitting steps away hurting, anxious or depressed thinking, man I don’t have time for this. BUT YOU DO. Man if someone said to you, “You know what will make you less anxious? or happy? or peaceful? It worked for me , no seriously it’s amazing you gotta try it”  You would be, shaking the answer out of them. But the funny thing is if they gave you this long set of instructions to get some kinda product, you might actually be willing to do that than just SIT STILL and spend time with God. Crazy isn’t it? Kinda blows my mind a little bit. But then we spend time with God and we’re like… WHY DIDN’T I DO THIS EARLIER! Well that’s the Bridge analogy.

The second is the Batman analogy. Rebekah, a wise friend of mine shared this analogy, she quoted the scene from Batman where Alfred is sharing a story about how a bandit had stolen precious stones from the local government but had been throwing them away . Alfred says : “One day I saw a child playing with a ruby the size of a tangerine.” I thought that image was so captivating; a child who in his hands holds something that was worth millions, but to him was just a simple toy, probably not even his favorite, just something he liked picking up from time to time and rolling around.  How many of us over look or underestimate the worth of the word of God, the presence of God, the wisdom God gives us. Proverbs 3:14-15 “Wisdom is worth more than silver; it brings more profit than gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you could want is equal to it.”

 Man, sometimes, we’re just playing with rubies without recognizing their worth. If we know God, not know of God, KNOW God.  We are not Christ's fans because we actually know him, we are his followers.  Therefore, in knowing God we should know His Love, His Grace and His Peace. We should be looking rushing in, seeking to spend time with him. Having the “GET OUT OF THE WAY, WORLD!” kind of attitude and recognizing that we are chasing after something that’s of worth.