One of my hobbies is metal detecting. As a young person growing up in California, I remember visiting the beach in Santa Cruz and watching individuals pull out dimes and quarters from the sand with their metal detectors. What a cool thing to find buried treasures! The interaction intrigued me so much that one year in grade school (6th or 7th grade?) I bought a metal detector and developed my science project around how the detector worked. It was a fun presentation to see how the detector would respond to different metals.
For years, I would use that detector when I had opportunity and eventually found enough coins to cover the cost of it. Along the way I had a couple simple silver rings, silver coins and a few wheat pennies. I actually just sold that detector last year – it still worked.
I sold it because my family got me a new detector for my birthday, which is much better in technology and easier to use.
So of course I took it to the beach this weekend! Since the ladies of my family like to sleep in on vacation, I got a couple of hours each of two mornings to see what treasures I could find on the beach. Coins added up to just over $3.00. Bottle caps and junk probably weighing over three pounds. 🙂 While I’m getting better at determining what is a “good target” and what is not worth digging, the irony is that gold rings can sometimes ring up similar to aluminum bottle caps or pull tabs…so in search of the elusive gold ring, I clean up the beach.
As I’m swinging my detector, of course there are others that are intrigued and ask things like, “Have you found my diamond ring yet?” Or, “What treasures have you found?” Others just looked from a distance. (It was fun last winter when we were in Galveston to find a one ounce silver bar…in case you were wondering what my best find has been recently.)
Searching for lost treasure is fun. The hunt is intriguing. You never know when the detector will go off and find something of value.
It reminds me of a story Jesus told of a lost coin and one who hunted for it.
Luke 15:8-10 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Some may say about metal detecting, “Why bother?” Some may see it as more work than it’s worth. But when you find something of great value, people are intrigued and excited.
Jesus compares this to the work of his kingdom. There are so many people in the world who don’t know Jesus. They are hidden behind their work, their activities, their hard facade, or their financial value. It is not always easy to bring the Gospel to them. It is not always rewarding when the sharing of Jesus is met with resistance. But when the Gospel changes a heart and an individual turns from a life of sin to follow Jesus…it’s like finding the lost coin that has utmost value!
Maybe metal detecting isn’t your idea of fun, but I pray that the idea of finding lost souls and sharing Jesus with them is an activity we are always willing to engage in!
Apply: Is there someone in your sphere of influence that doesn’t know Jesus? Pray boldly for God to set up an opportunity to talk about Jesus with them.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for engaging in a deliberate search to find me. I rejoice that I am part of your kingdom and humbled that you use me to find other lost souls. AMEN.