THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

The value of this penny turns out to be more than a cent. To be exact it is $ 517.000. Yes, you got it right: $517.000! That coin was dated 1792 and was just sold at an auction here in Anaheim. It was priced so high not because it is antiquated but rather because it has a historical significance. You see, the coin was issued during the transitional period from the British rule to the New Republic.

We’d like to think that we know what is significant and what is not. But, the truth is we don’t. What we think as “significant” might very well be of little value; conversely, what we think as “insignificant” could turn out to be of much value. Just imagine, a 224-years-old penny could actually buy us a house here in Monrovia!

In 1867, about 75 years after that coin was made, Amy Carmichael was born on the north coast of Ireland. Initially she wanted to serve God as a missionary to China, so when she set sail in 1893—at the age of 25—that was her destination. But God had a different plan. She ended up in India, where she would spend the rest of her life there until her death in 1951 at the age of 83.

Amy lost her father when she 18, leaving her mother alone raising the family. Years after his death, Amy found in her mother’s Bible a notation next to Nahum 1:7, “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him.” And this is what her mother wrote, “Found true all along the line ever since.”

Her mother left a penny that became a treasure in her life; in turn she also left a penny that became a treasure in Elizabeth Elliot’s life. Inspired by her, Elizabeth went to Ecuador with her husband, Jim, to serve God. Penny in the hands of man, treasure in the hands of God.

Pastor Paul