Gold Calling - COME!
On January 24, 1848, an event occurred that changed Americans as a people more than all the wars that have ever been fought, more than all the social upheaval that has ever fomented on the streets or campuses of this land, more than all the inventions that have improved our lives, and more than all the political strife that we still deal with every day. That was the day that James Wilson Marshall bent over in a creek near Sacramento, California, where he and John Sutter were building a sawmill, and picked up a gold nugget.
By May, 1848, over 30,000 people, primarily men, massed on the edge of the prairie in places like Missouri and Kansas and began to launch themselves in a trek that eventually drew over 400,000 people to the California gold fields. Many found disease, violence, and death, but the call to COME to find an easy fortune was irresistible. In a day when the total population of the U.S. was 23 million, 15% of the adult male population responded to the call (based on 1850 US Census). By 1864, it was mostly over – at least in California.
But on August 17, 1896, four vagabond prospectors, Robert Henderson, George Carmack, Tagish Charlie, and Skookum Jim Mason, struck it rich near Dawson, Yukon Territory, and the Yukon Gold Rush was on (sometimes called the Klondike Stampede). The cities of San Fransisco and Seattle became major staging destinations, as the Forty-Niners were followed by frenzied Stampeders who responded to the call of gold, and the lure of effortless riches, to come west and gather wealth without limit.
Come, whether express or implied, is a powerful word that needs a Biblical perspective. God has issued his call to come to Him. Come to find the wealth of His kingdom, the riches of His grace, and the power of His daily presence in our lives. Let’s look at how we use it, and how it is used in Scripture. We’ll consider some caveats, and then see how the Bible uses the word. Finally, we will look at three aspects of God’s call to come: come to new life, come to new vision, come to new hope.
Please feel free to make a COMMENT if you have a thought, clarification, question, or even disagreement.
Strength and Honor
Bill
