Back in the 80’s when I was in graduate school, I worked as a painter to make a living. I still do. One job I did, was the home of an executive for one of the giant grocery chains. At the end of the job we got paid, and as a bonus, we received a gold-plated silver dollar that commemorated the anniversary of the food chain. It was protected in a hard plastic casing. It was very shiny and glittering. . .shimmering like the sun light. Pretty cool. Some years later, I gave it away as a birthday present to the young son of a family friend. It was a golden present.
Webster defines “golden” as: consisting of, or relating to gold; made of gold; shining; characterized by a high degree of excellence; approaching a standard of perfection; characterized by great prosperity, happiness and achievement; flourishing; radiant, youthful, vigorous; opportunely advantageous. Golden. . . Capital G; golden. . .lower case g. God. . .all Capital letters of the alphabet. Man. . .all lower case letters of the alphabet.
Just look at the word, Gold with the capital G. Remove the letter l and you’re left with the word, God. Look now at the word, gold with the lower case g. Remove the letter l and you’re left with the word, god. We are already given a glimpse into the first commandment of God, ‘I am the Lord, thy God, thou shalt not have strange gods before me.” Please be patient for a moment. Give your ears a chance to hear and your eyes a chance to see. Words of Truth sometimes bring the laboring of the soul to its moment of birth, and new ears and new eyes arrive, just as it was written in the Book of Life before time.
Let’s just say for the sake of simplicity, that the letter l in the lower case g of the word gold, stands for “little man. . .or labors of man. . .or lofty and high minded man. . .or lunatick. And let’s just say that the letter l in the Upper case G of the word Gold stands for “little Dumbo lamb. . .lowly and humble Lily. . .lovely soaring eagle.
Poor old Job (same sounding O as in old) lost everything that he possessed that the world would consider golden. His pot of gold. In just a matter of days, all his children were killed, all his servants were killed, all of his possessions were taken by robbers and thieves. His wife blamed him for it all and had only bitterness and contempt for him. Then to make matters even worse, painful boils covered his entire body and he sat in the dirt scraping them with a piece of clay tile from the debris of his destroyed home.
His reputation was gone. The respect and admiration from others was gone. The pride within him of his accomplishments was gone. The treasure of his children was gone. His wealth was gone. His gold was gone. All of his laboring to achieve what he had. . .all of his lofty thoughts and reflections that he might have had regarding having the esteem of others. . .what should have turned him into a lunatic, turned him to say instead, “He knows the way that I take. When He has tried me, I shall come forth as Gold. My foot has held His steps, His way have I kept and not declined.” Job 23:10-11
The word, “lunatick” is actually in the New Testament of the bible. A man came up to Jesus and knelt down before him and said, “Lord have mercy on my son: for he is a lunatick and is in great torment and suffering: many times he falls into the fire and many times he falls into the water. . .and Jesus spoke and the son was cured.” Had my own father been a praying man, he would have known this story by heart. At the Humans Anonymous meetings, I always say, “Hi, my name is Mike. I am a lunatick.” (I heard some of you say, Hi Mike). The word means, “crazy, not in one’s right mind; moonstruck.”
Natural, normal, human ears and eyes can see and accept the traditional meaning of the word. Crazy. Not in one’s right mind. Many of us can relate to being that way. Many of us only see others being that way. Only the Dumbo sheep can see and accept the mystical part of the definition. . .moonstruck. The moon fascinates us. Another bright light in the sky. Changing every night. We are sometimes fascinated with it. Golden. . .no, only golden.
The moon has no light of its own. It is the sun that provides the brightness, the illumination, the fascination. The earth and the things of this planet are no different. No light of its own. Only illuminated by the sun. Only gold-plated. Just a covering over the mud and clay. Little Lily just whispered to me, “Oh, chief lunatick. . .they are going to have a hard time hearing this.” I know, Sweety. But I remember the day, when I found out, that what I treasured was only fool’s gold. It was the end of me. . .and it was the beginning of Him. It was the death of all the notions that a little god would believe, and the birth of the only notion worth believing, coming from the only Faith worth having. All from the only Source of Gold. Capital G, Gold. God Himself, dwelling in the little l of gold, every little lamb.
The truth can be offensive and usually makes people defensive. Everyone at the meeting today is nodding. We are all gold miners. In fact, we are all part of the gold rush of 2012. Just take a moment to consider what this world values. All of it is considered gold. What are you mining for. What are you finding in your little pan as you wash the little pebbles and stones in the river every day. Any gold? Some of us have hit the Mother Load. Eureka! The whole flock of sheep know the feeling. Just one more thought for this good moment.
“You say , ‘I am rich and have many things and have need of nothing more than this gold; and you are fools and are unaware that you are miserable, and poor and blind and naked: I advise you to buy from Me with the money that I provide for you, Gold tried in the fire that you may be Rich and clothed in the apparel of Royalty. I will give you eyes to see and ears to hear the Truth.” Revelation 3:17-18 The Pot of Gold at the end of the Rainbow of His Love to His children.
Job’s story didn’t end with his misery. . .it never does for the sheep. As the story continued, God blessed him with the Gold the He alone possesses. Power, Love, a Sound Mind, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Faith, Self-control. Additionally, he and his wife generated a new family and what he lost regarding possessions, God restored to him double.
The Gold Mining is done. The Gold Miner has struck it Rich. Now it’s the children’s inheritance. Freely given. Freely received. Free, Love. Eureka!
A Good Moment 