Basic HTML Version
The Reward of Searching, April 13
If thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if
thou seekest for her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of
God.
Proverbs 2:3-5
.
There must be earnest study and close investigation. Sharp, clear perceptions
of truth will never be the reward of indolence. No earthly blessing can be obtained
without earnest, patient, persevering effort. If men attain success in business, they
must have a will to do and a faith to look for results. And we cannot expect to gain
spiritual knowledge without earnest toil. Those who desire to find the treasures of
truth must dig for them as the miner digs for the treasure hidden in the earth. No
halfhearted, indifferent work will avail. It is essential for old and young, not only
to read God’s Word, but to study it with wholehearted earnestness, praying and
searching for truth as for hidden treasure. Those who do this will be rewarded, for
Christ will quicken the understanding....
No one can search the Scriptures in the spirit of Christ without being rewarded.
When man is willing to be instructed as a little child, when he submits wholly to
God, he will find the truth in His Word. If men would be obedient, they would
understand the plan of God’s government. The heavenly world would open its
chambers of grace and glory for exploration. Human beings would be altogether
different from what they now are, for by exploring the mines of truth men would
be ennobled. The mystery of redemption, the incarnation of Christ, His atoning
sacrifice, would not be as they are now, vague in our minds. They would be not
only better understood, but altogether more highly appreciated.
In His prayer to the Father, Christ gave to the world a lesson which should be
graven on mind and soul. “This is life eternal,” He said, “that they might know
thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (
John 17:3
). This
is true education. It imparts power. The experimental knowledge of God and of
Jesus Christ whom He has sent transforms man into the image of God. It gives
to man the mastery of himself, bringing every impulse and passion of the lower
nature under the control of the higher powers of the mind. It makes its possessor a
son of God and an heir of heaven. It brings him into communion with the mind of
the Infinite, and opens to him the rich treasures of the universe.
This is the knowledge which is obtained by searching the Word of God. And
this treasure may be found by every soul who will give all to obtain it.—
Christ’s
Object Lessons, 111-114
.
[118]
112