Once my daughter and nieces claimed their favorites of my mother’s rings, the dark green satin-and-velvet-lined jewelry boxes that sat on Mama’s dresser for decades held only valued memories and a collection of inexpensive pieces.
When I study the contents of the jewelry boxes, I recall bits of Mama’s well-lived life and evidence of the values she held dear. You can tell a lot about a person by the things they keep.
Among bracelets, necklaces, and earbobs (as she called them), I found my brother’s Scout medals and my 4-H pin, as well as a lapel pin I made in second grade from a wooden ice cream spoon and sequins.
Mama saved pins from her Pilot Club days and from the PTA offices she held. Sunday school attendance badges and a pin that reads “Jesus in the Reason for the Season” rest in the bottom section.
Faith, family, and community service filled her heart and her calendar.
The piece of her jewelry I appreciate the most reminds me that Mama’s heart was also filled with truths from God’s Word which she’d held dear since her early teen days. The tiny gold cross on a dainty chain that my dad gave to her on their wedding day bears the engraving “EJC to SMC 5-13-51.”
As her jewelry box indicates and my memory affirms, my mother valued biblical truth more than expensive jewels. She would agree with the psalmist who said to God,
The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
Psalms 119:72
God’s Word is a precious gift to His children. Let’s consider the value we place on Bible study as we read what the psalmist believed.
Thoughts from Psalm 119
Consider this familiar one:
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path .
Psalm 119:105
As we search for answers in troubled times, a fresh look at this verse reminds us that God uses His truths to help us navigate uncharted waters when they swirl around us.
Have you wondered lately how to respond, what to say, or whom to trust? When we search for answers, God often provides them as we study His Word. When we search for answers, God often provides them as we study His Word. Share on X
Let’s picture the verse another way: Imagine walking in an unfamiliar backyard void of light except for the flashlight you hold.
As you proceed onto each steppingstone, the flashlight shines on your feet to keep you steady. When you move forward, the beam illuminates the next steppingstone to prevent you from wandering off into the darkness.
We need not fear the next step even in darkness.
The more we study, the more light our heavenly Father sheds on our path as He continues to transform us to be more like Jesus.
We can assess the value we place on Scripture as we read the psalmist’s views in Psalm 119:
Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.
Verse 97
You are my portion, Lord; I have promised to obey your words.
Verse 57
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Verse 11
As we engage in Bible study this week, let’s ask God to use His Word mightily in our hearts, to endear it to us, and to guide us to fall in love more deeply with the One who led the psalmist to write these prayers:
Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.
Verse 18
Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart.
Verse 34
As we store God’s words in our hearts, He transforms them into sparkling jewels that change our lives.
Three-Part “Storing Treasures” Series
This post is part one of a three-part series about treasuring God’s Word. In the next two posts we’ll consider how specific portions of Scripture meet our needs, then we’ll share ideas for memorizing Scripture.
Please tell us in the comment section how God’s Word has ministered to your heart lately.
Verses are taken from the NIV.