Mining for Gems

           I have often said that I am not a Greek scholar although I would like to have been one. My proverbial answer was, “I know a little Greek. He runs a delicatessen down the street.” The first part is true, I do know a little Greek and with the help of a lot of aids, I am able to unearth a few gems here and there. Gems take time to find as while there may be an occasional gem on the surface, most of them are hidden. We were traveling in Wisconsin in 1956 on a vacation and went to a county fair where my uncle had a cotton candy wagon in a circus. He had decided to join the circus late in life and would travel from Texas to the Canadian border all summer long. I was amusing myself that day by walking around the circus and met an older man who was looking for something. I asked if I could help. He said that he had found a quarter and if he found another one, he would be able to cover the 50 cent cost of entering the circus. He didn't seem to notice that he was missing everything by searching for that quarter. I don't know if he ever found the quarter, but he sure was looking hard for it. Galatians 4;4-5 says, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” 

           Searching for gems in the Scriptures is certainly not a waste of time such as was in the case of the Wisconsin farmer. The gems in the Bible are those things that you discover by digging deeper into the Word of God day by day and which are very rewarding. The passage for today makes a comment about the “fulness” of the time. When the savior took on flesh over 2000 years ago, it was indeed the right time. It was in the right place and in the right time, with the right culture, the right politician in control, and at the right point in history, with the right language being used in the world at that time. The English language which is certainly a good language has restrictions here and there that do more to cover up the gems then to reveal them. I once counted up the different variations of a verb in Spanish and found there to be almost 146 different words that would shed a slightly different meaning in the sentence in which it was used. Such is the case in Greek. I often point out that John 21 has a discourse between Peter and the Lord Jesus Christ. The word “love” is used extensively in the Bible at that point, but there are different Greek words that were being used in the discussion. You won't see that unless you deeper in the text. While we may not be Greek scholars, we still have tools that can be used in our study such as the concordance. The words of the bible are arranged with their definition and original language with a dictionary at the end. It takes a little more time but it is worth it to find the gem especially if Jesus ever asks you, “Do you really love me more than these?” Concordances, dictionaries and even now the software programs are aids that can give us the location of the gems of the Bible. While it is true that you can rely on others to show you the gems, it is sometimes more profitable to you when you find them for yourself or at least, you can agree with what someone has already proclaimed to you. Take the time to ask questions about God's Word. Why did god say this or that and even, why didn't He say such and such. Praise God for the fact that Christ came at the exactly right moment in history. After all, it is His Story!