We have the golden calf, golden boy, golden opportunity, golden ring, golden years…etc
Here in Florida we have ‘golden’ or yellow (really dark bright yellow=gold) Tabebuia trees. They also come in pink and purple with a trumpet like flower. The tree blooms in the spring when the weather gets consistently over 80. They also bloom in Central and South America sub-tropical areas. The Golden Yellow is most showy and is seen in our neighborhood on all sides…there is a problem…they bloom profusely one day and 4 days later they are just another tree waiting for the leaves to come back from the winter season and then they produce long pods of seeds that make a horrid mess all over the yard and in the air. Their seed pods spread much like a dandelion seed and it has a light weight bit of fluff like a dandelion. Hmmm same color as a dandelion too. But that’s not where I am going.
I know about the ‘golden calf’…the Israelites couldn’t wait for Moses to come back from the mountain and they were sure he was dead after 40 days being with God up there. They were so scared they wouldn’t even go close to the mountains. “Moses, you do it, we’re scared!” Then they talked Moses’ sidekick Aaron into making them a ‘god’ to worship. Don’t be fooled, making it with our own hand, doing it our way, having what we want makes us the ‘god’. We can’t do that.
The ‘golden boy’…everything turns to gold in their hands, all the talent, the looks, etc…remember King Midas? If you are reading this and don’t know or can’t remember, google it!
The ‘golden opportunity’ is not always what it seems. We’ve had some really wonderful opportunities in service to the Lord and others…we are still human beings and so is everyone else. The ‘golden opportunity’ is still work…sometimes very hard work, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I had a lovely Bridal shop for 6 years, I loved it and it nearly killed me. All I did with that ‘golden opportunity’ was work 16 hours a day for 6 years…not so golden…
Grabbing the ‘golden ring’ can become a noose around our necks. We can become the slave in worshiping this as well.
Now we come to our ‘golden years’. I guess I’m there now. Retired from the ‘working’ years, but as most of you already know, if you read this ‘blog’ it’s not being so ‘golden’ in the perspective I had a few years back looking forward to retirement with Rick. A chance to take a trip, do some traveling to see friends around the state and country and maybe even the world. That all went bye-bye in one day. So what is the ‘golden’ we should seek? The ‘gold’ that will not pass away, the ‘gold’ that can be redeemed for a priceless treasure?
1 Peter 5:4 … And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
When we give our lives to Jesus, to live and die for Him, He will appear one day and that crown will be priceless, eternal and no one can steal it and it can’t be lost. God has given us a priceless treasure in the ‘cross of Christ’. This Lenten season seek the ‘Gold’…not the medal, the money, the dream, the opportunity….seek Him who saved us by His grace and gives us an unfading crown of HIS glory at His return.
Melanie Hoover 