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Real Worship Starts Here

          When Wesley Carrington took his newly purchased metal detector into a field near his home in Hertfordshire, England, he had no expectations of finding anything.  He had never used a metal detector before and the one he purchased from the local hardware store was the cheapest one they carried.  After coming across a spoon and a half penny, Carrington found a gold coloured coin that had a Roman figure on it.  Digging a little deeper, he discovered 158 ancient Roman “Solidus” coins worth approximately $156 000.
            In April of 2010, Dave Crisp was searching in a field near Somerset, England when his metal detector went off.  Digging down fourteen inches, he found a coin and then the top of a ceramic pot.  The pot contained 52,503 bronze and silver coins dating from AD 253 to 305.  This coin hoard has estimated worth of over $582 000.
            Some may read those stories and think that those guys are really lucky and that is certainly true.  In fact, Carrington reports that since that first day out he has not found anything.  While “beginner’s luck” is part of the story, I want to suggest another reason why these two men found these coins:  They were looking!
            In other words, had they just sat at home and watched TV none of this would have happened.  Had they not bought metal detectors and actually used them, there would not be a story.  Had they ignored the beeping and said, “I am not digging here.  It is likely nothing” they would have passed over something amazing.
            The same thing can be said of us.  If we just float along, we will likely miss most of our blessings.  However, if we actively seek out good things, then we will undoubtedly find them.  Seeing one small blessing, will lead us to notice more and suddenly we will have a long list of things for which to be thankful.
            Jesus once said that he desired worshippers who worshipped “In spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).  While that phrase can be interpreted several different ways, one way of understanding it is that God wants people who have a “spirit of true worship”.  He wants people who have trained themselves to see their world differently, so that they find God’s presence and God’s joy in ordinary things.  He wants people who see life in such a way that they “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4).  All it takes is a little focus.
            We will find our blessings as soon as we decide to start looking.

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