A Devotion for Panning for Gold
And we did! We hiked and zip-lined, tubed and did archery. We ate good food and laughed at the dog splashing in the river. Most mornings I spent on our porch with coffee and a book. Our days were busy and we went to bed with tired bodies and full souls.
If I’m honest, the week was a stark contrast to our everyday lives. My own daily life and work is full of cell phones beeping at me, several screens open on my laptop or IPad, Alexa over the speaker at home, and podcasts in the car. None of these technological marvels are bad in and of themselves; they connect us easily and efficiently to our work and to one another. But they also allow us to hide, to distance ourselves, and perhaps most dangerously, to distract and numb ourselves.
Our Gospel text for this week is from Luke, and in it we can find Jesus’ desire for our hearts and minds, for the ordering of our lives in simplicity.
He says:
"Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. "But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour." (Luke 12: 32-30)
To be sure, we could read this text and understand that Jesus wants us to be prepared. To not fear, but to ready our houses and bodies and bank accounts to live in anticipation of hearing from God.
But at the center of this text, we find the statement on which all of this preparation hinges:
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
For one of our vacation adventures, we took the kids to the Consolidated Gold Mines in Dahlonega. We got to tour the old mines and pan for gold and gemstones afterward.
They taught us how to fill our pans with a scoop of dirt and rocks. As we shook the pans, dirt and sediment floated out, leaving just the heavier specks of gold.
The flakes of gold were tiny, almost imperceptible. But they shone, sparkling in the cloudy water. Treasure.
If your life was shaken like a mining pan, what would be revealed? What are the things that you treasure – where do you spend your time, your money, your passion and your strength?
There you will find your heart.
What’s beautiful about this passage is that we have already been promised great treasure from God. Treasure that no one can touch, treasure that will not fade or crumble or disappear in the night. God has given us His Kingdom and all that it contains: mercy, justice, compassion, love, goodness and restoration.
Jesus’s words in this text start with “Do not be afraid” and end with “be ready.” In our work of disaster, we are no stranger to the preparation side of things. We can stock a flood bucket and first aid kit like no one else. But Jesus’ words don’t tell us to do more, to keep busy for the sake of busyness.
Rather, we are called to focus, to center our hearts, our work, our lives on the Kingdom of God.
We are called to be prepared, to keep out lamps lit, and bags packed, to do the work of the Kingdom of God. We do so that when all is washed away, our treasure will shine like gold in muddy water.
With you on the journey,
Chaplain Amy
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