Proverbs 26:8

Gems Amid Stones

A bag of gems in a heap of stones. Proverbs 26:8.

That was a odd place for gems, was it not? You would expect to find them in the treasure-chamber of a king, or hidden in some safe corner in a house, or, if you lived in fairyland, you might search for them in a magic cave. But who would look for gems in a heap of stones by the roadside? Yet there they were, all safely tied up in a bag. Perhaps somebody laid them down and forgot about them, or perhaps they were hidden in a hurry, and then their owner died and the secret of their hiding-place died with him. We do not know, but there they were, and when I came upon them in the Book of Proverbs they gave me two messages for the boys and girls. Would you like to know these messages?

1. Well, first they told me not to forget to look for the gems amid the stones. What does that mean? Of course it doesn't mean that you are to pull down every heap of stones you meet on a country roadside and that you are to expect to find a bag of jewels among them. No, it means that you are to look for beauty among things that seem plain and ugly, that you are to look for brightness among things that seem dull or disagreeable, that you are to look for goodness amid things that seem unattractive or even worthless.

You are to look for beauty among the things that seem plain and ugly. Once a gentleman was walking on the shores of Westmorland. He was accompanied by an old, old man who had lived there all his days. And as they walked along the visitor complained of the blackness and ugliness of the beach at that part. But the old man only smiled. “Have you ever stooped down, sir?” he asked. And when the stranger stooped, he saw that what had before seemed a black mass was crowded with thousands upon thousands of exquisite little shells.

Have you found the shells amidst the pebbles, boys and girls? Have you looked for the gems amidst the stones? Have you used the eyes God gave you to discover all the marvels with which He has crowded this wonderful world of His? You are missing some of the best things in life if you have not.

And then you are to look for brightness among the things that seem dull or disagreeable. There is a story which tells how two little girls were taken to a strange garden and left there to play. Before long one of them ran to find her mother. “The garden is a horrid place,” she grumbled; “every rose-tree has cruel thorns upon it.” Later the other child came. “Mother,” she cried, “the garden is such a lovely place; every thorn bush has beautiful roses growing on it.”

Boys and girls, look for the roses among the thorns. Life isn't going to be all fun. Troubles will come as well as joys. The thorns will prick and tear sometimes, and our hands will bleed. But keep a brave heart. There are roses amidst the thorns, and we owe it to ourselves and to those around us to remember the roses. And if we do that, the thorns will seem worth while, and the roses will be all the sweeter because of them.

Once more, you are to look for goodness amidst things that seem unattractive or even worthless. There are some people about whom there doesn't seem to be anything nice. They are stupid or dull or cross or even unkind and spiteful. There are other people who seem to be out and out bad and we feel we can't like them however much we try.

Well, remember that somewhere amidst the heap of stones the jewels are shining. Somewhere, perhaps, that unattractive person has a mother who loves him just as much as your mother loves you. The prodigal son in the parable did not seem worth much, and yet his father never left off caring for him. And God never leaves off caring for the worst of us. He sees the jewels amidst the stones and He is able to make them sparkle and glisten in the light of His presence.

So look for the jewels amidst the stones, boys and girls. There is never a heap of stones without its gem. There is never anyone so bad but has some good in him. And if you look for the gem perhaps you will be the means of helping it to shine in the glorious light of day.

2. I have only a minute left for the other message of the jewels, but I must not leave it out. For the second thing they told me was not to throw away my gems on a heap of stones. And what does that mean? Well, it just means that you and I are not to throw away things that are valuable on things that are worthless. We are not to waste our energies on small things, we are not to waste our minds in reading bad books, we are not to waste our friendship on bad companions.

And, boys and girls, there is one priceless jewel you each possess. It is your life here on earth. What are you going to do with it? Are you going to cut it and polish it and make it gloriously worth while? Or are you going to throw it away on a heap of stones? Are you going to make the very best of it so that it may make the world brighter and better? Or are you going to waste it on your own selfish aims or on things that are base and unworthy? The gem is yours, yours to use as you will, but it is yours only once. If you want to guard it safely and use it well, then you must give it into God's keeping. He will watch over it and give it a brighter radiance every day, until at last it is fit to adorn His heavenly crown.