My cartoon for May 17, 2009, titled “Strike It Rich”, is one that I have had on my computer hard drive for a couple of years, at least. I don’t know if I still have the original sketch on paper or not. Fortunately, I had scanned it and saved it on my computer. It depicted a prospector from the American old west who is dancing with joy over a gold nugget he has found while digging in his mine.

I guess I have heard several Bible teachers and preachers use the metaphor of mining to refer to Bible study. Phrases such as “digging for nuggets of truth in the Word of God” were the inspiration for the original sketch. But when I finally got around to finishing the cartoon, I looked for some verse in the Bible that used this particular metaphor, but couldn’t find one. The only passage I could find that spoke about mining was in the book of Job, chapter 28.

Even though I couldn’t find a specific verse that referred to the Word of God as a mine, I still think it is a valid illustration. The verse I did use, from Proverbs, Chapter 2, verses 4 & 5, speaks of searching for wisdom and understanding as you would look for silver or search for hidden treasure.

This idea of searching for the truth, of seeking for God, is found throughout the Bible. Deuteronomy 4:29 says But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul; Proverbs 25:2 says It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings; and Act 17:27 says God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. There are many other verses that speak about seeking the Lord.

I think it is an interesting idea that God wants us to look for Him. He is, in a way, hiding from us – not because he doesn’t want to be found, but because he wants us to seek him. One way that we can search for God is to read and study His Word, the Bible.

In the finished cartoon I changed the pick into a shovel, to make it easier to write the word “study” on it. And I added the other two old west characters to provide a commentary on the prospector. I hope the cartoon will be a reminder and an inspiration to Christians to spend time reading and studying the Bible. And maybe it can be an inspiration to those who don’t know the Lord to seek Him.