I have a friend named Carl who loves to look for rocks. Not just any old rocks, mind you, but exceptional rocks - rocks that catch the eye because of their shape, color, structure or sparkle. Most any day that it's not raining (which recently, hasn't been that often), you'll find Carl outside, patiently going over the tens of thousands of rocks that can be found outside his retirement community. Like clockwork, when Carl's been looking, I know that I'll be seeing his latest finds!
One thing about hunting for "keepers" - rocks that he's going to take to his room - is that it takes a lot of time. Finding "keepers" is not something you do in 5 minutes a day, and frequently takes you back over the same ground you covered not more than a few days ago, for you just don't know what you might have missed!
It occurred to me this morning that Carl's looking for "keepers" is a lot like our reading of God's Word (something I hope you do on a regular basis): to find God's "keepers" (truths that touch our hearts, minds and lives) takes more than 5 minutes a day - it takes looking often and persistently. It also frequently takes us over "ground" we've covered before. Another friend of mine stated just yesterday how amazed he is that no matter how often he reads his Bible, he finds something new every time!
Now, this taking of time and devoting it to finding God's "keepers" goes against the fast-paced lifestyles that most of us lead. Like a driver who, because he is always in a hurry to get to his next destination, never fills up his gas tank but puts in just $5 worth of gas every time, it can be easy for us to do the same, spiritually speaking, and never really "fill 'er up." Problem is, he's always worried about running out of gas!
If you're not doing so already, I want to challenge you to take your 5 minutes in God's Word and double it...at least. Use this expanded opportunity to "fill 'er up" and I believe that your discovery of "keepers" will increase exponentially. Plus, you won't ever have to worry about running out of "gas" (God's strength & peace).
And once you find some "keepers," I'd love to hear about them! Matter of fact, I'm betting that once you've found them, like Carl, you won't be able to not talk about them and show them to others!
