By Pastor Amos
As a rock hound, and amateur geologist, there are certain things about scanning a river bed that excite me. Scanning for colors I find a particular exhilarating rush when I see a distinct shade of red in a stone, thinking I have just found a carnelian specimen, only to find it is a common piece of red granite. The disappointment, frustration, and annoyance. But all those negative feelings do not repel me from continuing my search.
My wife thinks it is so odd for me to scan through decorative rock pits in public places, and though I may receive some weird looks, often times, I find pieces to add to my ever growing collection. On occasion, I have found fool’s gold, small garnets, agates, and chalcedony. If ever an opportunity arises… I search. I won’t find something if I don’t look.
My enthusiasm for geology knows no bounds. I even drove three hours out of my way to visit the region around Keokuk, Iowa. To visit the fabled geode fields. No other place in the world has a higher concentration of the crystal rocks.
I found a lot of quartz, and a mammoth 8 ½ pound geode that held trillions of chalcedony crystals. The beautiful amethyst eluded me, but I had fun nonetheless.
One particular day as I rummaged through a seemingly featureless pile of pebbles, I grew frustrated, having not found anything worth keeping. There wasn’t much there that would catch the eye, or cause anyone to think it held any purpose other than making the lavender plants look better without having to deal with lawn maintenance. But there was something different that day.
A fossil sat on top of all the other stones. The setting sun shone through the specimen revealing the mineral composition. The high concentrations of iron oxide (rust) had seeped into the wood during fossilization, turning the piece into a beautiful dull red color. The excitement, the elation, the thrill of having finally found such a sought after specimen! (pictured) I continued my search, often times stopping to look at my newfound favorite fossil.
Now, I say all this as backstory.
Then I was hit with something. This must be how God feels when His sought after child finally puts down their stubbornness and comes to Him. How happy and joyous He must feel. If I can get excited about finding a truly worthless fossil, how much more excited must God feel when His child finds Him? The Bible is full of parables about how joyous it is for our Heavenly Father to have us in his possession again. The woman looking for her lost coin, the shepherd and the one missing sheep, and then the fabled prodigal son.
God loves us. Including you, yes even you. And there is no shortage of celebration with God when He has His child again. He is ready for you, regardless of the amount of steps between you and God, you need only just take one in His direction, and He will do the rest.
This is Pastor Amos, reminding you to keep it in Jesus.
