p. 74 | Search the Scriptures by L. A. R.

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Nov 25, 1913

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 40, No. 45.

“Search the Scriptures”

By L. A. R.

WE should fear to skim the word of God.” So says a well-known religious writer. It expresses a truth not often realized. Superficiality is the price paid for slothfulness. It is only he who is willing to study deep and long that uncovers the precious truths of God. It is only he who digs deep that opens the precious mines of hidden lore. It is only he who sends down a great sounding-line far below the surface that touches the foundations of God’s profound revelation.

There are men who will take their lives in their hands, who will leave home and family and comforts, that they may discover some unseen country far to the north, or far to the south, or somewhere around this belted earth. There are those who will labor night and day, snatching a little food now and then, sleeping as they may, laboring in scientific research, that they may discover some unknown germ of disease, or reveal some new principle in the world of force or matter. There are men who are willing to put forth effort in business, and in the many varied activities of life.

But who is ready to study God’s word with the zeal and energy and time and effort that the great revelation of unsearchable wisdom demands?

God has provided that energy put forth, great effort exerted, in any legitimate line of life’s activities, shall be repaid thirty, sixty, a hundredfold; but nowhere else has He provided such rich rewards as are to be found in the study of the book of God. In studying the Word, the results are not merely temporal, they are not confined to these immediate days, but they bring one face to face with the realities that will never end throughout the stretching cycles of God’s eternity. In the study of God’s word, one becomes energized by a power that is divine, and that changes body, mind, and soul into the similitude of God’s own character.

Let us heed, then, the injunction of Christ, “Search the Scriptures.” Let us hunt for the precious jewels of God’s promises, shining in their luster, without rival, gems of the rarest beauty. Knowing where is the field that contains the hidden treasure, let us sell all and buy it, that we may have the knowledge that is above the wealth of the world.

L. A. R.