"In Him you also, when you heard the Word of truth, the Gospel of your
salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who
is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the
praise of His glory." Ephesians 1:13-14
Alvin Barr is a seller of antiques.
That being said, a number of years ago he paid $300 for a mysterious-looking jug
at an estate sale.
The jug, which has a face modeled into it, caused Barr enough confusion that he
took it to the Antiques Roadshow for an evaluation. The expert made his
appraisal. He admitted that "it's difficult to identify precisely when this was
made," but ultimately he decided
1. The jug was probably made on the East Coast in the late 19th or early 20th
centuries;
2. The jug is probably worth somewhere around $30,000 to $50,000.
The show was aired and caught the attention of a friend of a lady named Betsy
Soule who lives in Eugene, Oregon. Somewhere around 1973 or 1974, when Soule was
in high school, she made the jug in art class. Although she doesn't know how the
jug managed to get to a garage sale, she was able to prove to Antiques Roadshow
that the jug was her creation.
Since they received Soule's proof, Antiques Roadshow has lowered the jug's
estimated value from $30,000 to $3,000.
All of this goes to prove ... what?
It shows that human beings are fallible. They make mistakes.
Now I've watched the Antiques Roadshow for a great many years and I haven't seen
them make many mistakes, but it does happen. They try to get it right, but it
does happen.
The same holds true for all other areas of human knowledge and wisdom. Indeed,
the truths of today become the misinformation of tomorrow, which is something we
need to remember when the world's experts criticize the Lord and His Word.
Look at what St. Paul says about the subject:
* God's Word is the Word of truth.
* It offers us salvation through the Redeemer.
* It is sealed by the Holy Spirit.
* It guarantees us eternal life in heaven.
* This gives us grounds to give praise to the Triune God for His gift of
salvation.
In short, in the Lord we have the one Expert who can be trusted all the time.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, there are many wise people in this world, but there are
no perfect people. All of us make mistakes except for You. May our trust be as
unfailing as is Your love and grace. This I ask in the Savior's Name. Amen.
Pastor Ken Klaus Lutheran Hour Ministries All rights reserved; not to be duplicated without permission.
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