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Themes: It's Important Who You Listen To J.M. Clarence King picked up a newspaper. Since he was in San Francisco on business, he ought to find out what was happening in the town. As he scanned the paper, his eyes fell on one article. "Diamond Mine discovered in the West!" it read.
"Huh!" snorted Clarence King. He, of all people, should know that that was impossible. Diamonds in the West. Hah! Ever since the Gold Rush of 1848, people had wondered if there were other precious metals and stones in the West. Thousands had rushed to California to pan the streams for gold. Only a few of them ever struck it rich. All the rest gave up their jobs and families for nothing. Now, in 1872, they were after diamonds.
Clarence himself was a geologist, which means he studied minerals and gems for a living. He knew there were no precious stones in the West, and he had written it down. No one believed him, though. So he decided to go and see this diamond mine himself.
Do you believe everything you read or hear? Many things are not reliable. But what about the Bible? When God speaks, do you think that you can believe Him?
The newspaper didn't say where the mine was. The owners were keeping it a secret, so they could have all the money. By the descriptions, Clarence King guessed that the mine was somewhere in Northern Utah. So off he went, hoping that no one would believe the newspaper.
But people did believe, and began to buy parts of the mining company. As more diamonds were found, and the company became richer, those who owned parts of the company became rich as well. Or they hoped to. Some sold all they had to the company, hoping for millions of dollars once the gems were found.
Meanwhile, in Utah, Clarence King was beginning to wonder if he had been wrong. There were, indeed, diamonds in Utah. But then, he saw that the mine held rubies, too. And sapphires, and emeralds. What's more, the diamonds that were dug out were already cut into round stones. "This is impossible," Clarence King wrote in a report to San Francisco. "It is all a hoax. There are no gems in the West." Do you know who would be interested in tricking you and making you believe that there is no eternity, no hell, and no God?
Where, then, had the gems come from? Well, it turned out that two men had bought flawed gems from a German jewel merchant, and had put them in the mine for others to "discover". The whole thing was a farce. Now what would those people do, who had bought stock in the mining company? They had lost everything. The company couldn't pay them back, because the company itself was broke. These people had made a mistake. They put value on something that was worthless.
How different it is with salvation! When God Himself, who knows everything, says you need to be saved, you know it is true.
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Bryon Meyers
