Skill II. How to Find Treasures in the Story
The second skill you need to acquire is, how to find the treasures within the story that you plan to tell.
What Are Bible Treasures?
Once there was a man who left his village and went to the city to work. In the many years he was in the city, the man earned a lot of money. Finally, he returned to his home whereupon everyone greeted him as a great friend. This newly wealthy man wanted to use some of his money to give gifts to his true friends. So he thought of a plan.
He left his village for a day and then came back. Then he called everyone together who was saying, “I am your friend,” and he asked them all to come meet him at the other side of the nearby hill.
The wealthy man gathered the people who came and then made an announcement. He said, “I’ve been working on the path that goes to the river. If you follow the path, you will find some treasures. Now go. Find my gifts for you.”
So the people left and started walking down the path. A few people stopped and picked up some sand from the path. They said, “Let’s go home and study this sand for awhile.” Others ran down the path toward the river. When they reached the end of the path, they complained, “We know this path well. There is nothing new. We didn’t see any treasure.”
The rest of the people walked along on the familiar path. As they moved along, they kept talking with each other saying things as, “Look at this old fallen tree. Our friend moved out of the way to make our walk on the path easier.” Other walkers noticed that the thorn bushes had been cut back to make the way safer.
Instead of running down the path to find the gifts, these people began walking even more slowly, so that they could enjoy the results of the hard work that their wealthy friend had done for them. They recognized that the path itself was a gift from their friend.
Suddenly, one walker stopped, and called everyone over to look. “See by the side of the path here, under this bush. There are jars of sweet potatoes.”
Then another walker called out, “Look over here, back from the path. I found a big box of brand new cooking pots.”
Again and again, the slow walkers kept discovering hidden treasures just off to the side of the path. They realized that these gifts had been placed there for them by their rich friend. The wealthy man knew that his true friends would trust him and love his path, and then they would be the ones to discover the gifts he had placed there for them.
Those who had rushed down the path that had been lovingly prepared by the rich man missed all of the treasures. They did not go slowly so that they could fully appreciate the path, or the path maker. (Those who decided to study the sand on the path are still studying. They still have not yet traveled the path!)
Every story in the Bible is a path prepared for us by God. Those who will walk slowly through the path of a Bible story can discover hidden treasures, gifts of truth from God.
Finding Treasures in a Bible Story
We call the truths God that weaves into every Bible story “treasures.” These treasures are the combination of what we call Spiritual Insights and Practical Applications.
The Spiritual Insights are the ways God is working in the lives of the people in the story.
The Practical Applications are what we can learn spiritually from the story.
God always has a plan for everyone in each story. From what those characters learn (or don’t learn) we need to discover what God wants us to learn. As explained before, part of the way you remember and learn about a story is to live that story.
As you live a story through what each character says and does (and you notice how God works in the story) you will begin to discover some of the story’s treasures. So now let us help you search for the treasures.
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