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Gleanings From The Word

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  • Treasure of trash? The cross of Christ.

    Treasure of trash? The cross of Christ.

    Canada Gosse nest with eggs
    Canada Goose nest

    I remember it as clearly as if it were yesterday rather than more  than twenty years ago. Genni, the Wonder Dog, and I walked around the lake. 

    Up ahead of us, three boys, the eldest perhaps aged ten and the other two maybe eight and six, were busy at the lakeshore. As we drew closer, they came to “pet the dog” and show us the great treasure they had found.

    Two goose eggs that they had fished out of the lake were in a Ziploc bag. Although they were covered in weeds and algae, they were nonetheless intact.

    “They still have the yolks in them,” said the oldest. “They probably got drownded.”

    “We’re taking them home to keep,” said the middle one.

    The eldest pointed to the middle boy with pride and said, “He gets the award for being the most disgusting human being alive. He reached into the muck and weeds and got them for us.”

    We spoke for a couple more minutes, and then they carried on their way. I saw them later sharing the news of their great treasure with another couple out walking their dog.

    I suspect the boy’s mother will be less than thrilled with the treasure the boys bring home, especially if it ends up in a drawer somewhere for a week or two, and they discover it by the smell.

    Such is life. One person’s treasure is another person’s trash.

    It is that way with the Gospel. Those of us who have found Christ are called to tell others about it. It is the most wonderful news in the world. It is worth more than all the gold and diamonds in the world. Everyone can be free of the penalty of his or her sin. God loves us enough to have died for us. We can have eternal life.

    To some, though, that treasure is simply foolishness.

    For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 

    Each person must make up their own mind whether the gospel is a treasure worth dying for or foolish words. Do not be discouraged by those who reject the message. That is between them and God. Continue to share the treasure with all who will listen.

    Until next time, may you share the truth of Jesus Christ with many.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

    Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

    You Were Designed For a Godly Purpose
    The Gospel – the best news you will ever hear
  • Childlike, not childish, faith.

    Childlike, not childish, faith.

    a stack of wooden cigar boxes

    Some years ago, my friend John gave me some old  wooden cigar boxes. Neither of us is a smoker, but he had managed to collect quite a few of the little boxes over the years. Like me, he enjoys storing his treasures in small wooden boxes or tins of various types. The treasures can be anything from pencils and pens to nuts and bolts. I have always enjoyed boxes and containers of “stuff.” 

    I have one tin filled with such treasures as pocket knives, a bear claw, some arrowheads, a penknife that belonged to my grandfather, and a couple of inexpensive pocket watches. Still another holds USB memory sticks. I like to think of them as childlike treasures not childish.

    I even have a few of those hollowed-out books that are really boxes sitting on my various bookshelves. They, too, hold “irreplaceable treasures.” Things like fossil shark’s teeth, shiny rocks, a compass that belonged to my grandfather, a letter opener made from a deer antler, and some of his World War II memorabilia. Nothing that would be of any value to anyone else but irreplaceable to me.

    If you have been reading for any length of time, you will know that I also enjoy thrift stores, garage sales, and old-style small-town hardware shops.

    I’ve panned for gold, scoured abandoned farmsteads for collectible “stuff,” and picked more than my share of interesting rocks and minerals in my travels. 

    I have never found anything that could be considered a great treasure or have substantial monetary value. It is the hunt for the unusual that I enjoy. I suppose that’s my childlike sense of wonder coming out. Some might say childish, but I prefer childlike. 

    Believers are called to be childlike. 

    “…calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:2-4

    Like children, only in the sense that we learn to trust our Father, as a young child trusts their parents. We are not called to set aside our intellect or reason, but we are called to be humble and trust.  Childlike not childish.

    There is another reason Jesus called us to be little children. Children have little to bring to the table.

    In the days of Jesus, children were amongst the lowest class of citizens. They had no rights, no power, and no wealth. That is hard for us to believe when today, children seem to be a privileged class. We place great value on them. The pendulum has swung to the opposite extreme, from highly marginalized to being worshipped.

    Amongst other things, Jesus was making the point that the gospel was for marginalized people, not just the wealthy or middle class. It is for the sick, the poor, the addicted, the lonely, the undesirables, the unlovable, and in general, those we might feel uncomfortable sitting next to in a church service. 

    Christ had remarkable compassion for the misfits of the day. They had nothing to bring but faith.

    In reality, you and I are misfits as well. We bring nothing but faith, and that is a gift from God. We are broken sinners who offer nothing special to God. It is by His grace that we are saved, not by our merit.

    We have no right to have churches filled with one ethnic group or one social class. That distorts the gospel and sends the message that you don’t belong if you are not like us.

    Churches are not meant to be filled with smug, self-righteous, perfect, homogeneous people. They are designed to be filled with people who know that they are broken and bring nothing. We are to be like the children of Jesus’ day.

    We are saved by the mercy of Christ. I pray He gives us eyes to see others as He sees them and that we make time for the marginalized, the children, the misfits.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

    Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

    Childlike faith – not childish

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    All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2025 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, Gleanings From The Word.

    Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV).

    From Gleanings From The Word (Kevin Corbin, 2001– ), a Scripture-based devotional work.

    # Right Belief Must Become Right Living