Christian Comment with Rev Richard Bryant (PTO retired Associate Minister in the new Stroudwater Benefice)

The Stone and the True Treasure

BROTHER George had reached the outskirts of the village.

It was a fine, warm evening, and he was settling down under a tree for the night when a villager came running up to him and said, ‘The stone! The stone! Give me the precious stone!’

‘What stone?’ asked Brother George.

‘Last night I had a dream,’ said the villager.

‘A voice told me that if I went to the outskirts of the village at dusk I should find a Brother who would give me a precious stone that would make me rich forever,’

Brother George laughed.

‘Are you sure it was a stone, and not a Lottery ticket?’ he asked.

But the man did not laugh.

He was so tense with expectation that Brother George felt sorry for him.

He rummaged in his bag and pulled out a stone.

‘The voice probably meant this one,’ he said, as he handed the stone over to the villager.

‘I found it on the forest path some days ago. You can certainly have it.’

The man gazed at the stone in wonder.

It was a diamond, probably the largest diamond in the whole world.

He took the diamond and walked away.

All night he tossed about in bed, unable to sleep.

Next day at the crack of dawn he woke Brother George and asked, ‘Do you know the worth of this diamond?’

Brother George yawned. ‘Oh, I have a fair idea. But I have all I need. And you seemed to need the riches of the stone so desperately.’

The villager was quiet for a moment.

Then he laid the diamond on the ground in front of Brother George and said, ‘Please, share with me the wealth that you have in your heart, the wealth that makes it possible for you to give this diamond away so easily.’

This is an old story that I have borrowed, with thanks, to share with you.

If you have enjoyed it, pass it on.

That is how stories live.