Fool's Gold

 Mark Buchanan, in his book, The Rest Of God, tells the story of his wife's grandmother, who lived in British Columbia. This part of BC was the gateway to the Yukon, where a large gold strike had taken place. Gold had been found in her region as well, right near the home grandmother Alice lived in.

Alice loved to garden, but in the midst of her garden was a large stone, so large she couldn't remove it. Trying to make the best of it, she set to work polishing it, smoothing it, seeking to make it look like it at least fit in the garden. She was using sandpaper, and as she worked she noticed something that astounded her. She saw a thin dusting of gold on the stone. Gold! With excitement, she rubbed even harder and more gold dusting appeared. Joyfully she worked and more traces of gold were accumulating. Her heart soared. She was going to be rich! Stopping to rest, and wiping her brow, she noticed something different about her wedding ring. The upper side was fine, but the underside was reduced to just a few strands of gold. She had sanded it away. The gold she thought she'd found was only filings from the ring. As Buchanan put it, "It was the remnants of her heirloom. It was her treasure reduced to dust. It was all fool's gold."

How much of our life has been wasted chasing "fool's gold?" What has been lost to us in the pursuit of that which in the end was nothing more than dust? How driven have we been in chasing things that may not even be real, or once found, give us no fulfillment at all? How much of life do we live on the "fast track," filled with busyness and activity, but in the end yield nothing but dust? 

The Chinese use two characters in coming to their word for busyness. Heart and killing. Busyness kills the heart. Is it killing yours, exacting a cost you'll never be able to pay? Are you exchanging the riches found in Christ for the dust of this world? Have you been chasing after what you thought was the abundant life but find you are losing your life in the chase? Is all of it killing your heart?

God has much for us to do, but none of it involves busyness. Whatever it is we do, we must first spend intimate time with Him. Someone said that it is hard to see or hear Him when we live life on the run. Psalm 45:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God," while Psalm 34:8 reads, "Taste and see that He is good." To do either, we must stop our obsession with the dust we think is gold. We simply dwell with Him and in doing this, we discover what true riches really are. 

Have you been a dust chaser? Is your treasure in HIm being rubbed away by the pace you seek to keep? Is your heart slowly dying because of it? Stop! Be still. Know Him. Experience Him. He will restore your life, your real treasure. He will make you to live again. Let Him have your attention. Let Him have you.

Blessings,
Pastor O