How Wealthy Are You?
Church…do we have misplaced priorities? What comes first in our lives? Is the Kingdom of God our most important task? Let me ask you… what are you spending your money on? What do you spend your time doing? What is it going to take, church family, for us to see with the eyes of Jesus?
One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people can be. They spent a couple of days and nights on this farm of what would be considered by most standards, a very poor family.
On their return trip, the father asked his son. “How was the trip?” to which the son replied, “It was great, Dad.” The father asked, “Did you see how poor people can be?” The son answered, “Oh, yes, Dad. I saw that we have one dog and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio extends to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve each other. We buy food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, but they have friends to protect them.”
With this the boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added. “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are.”
In ancient Rome, crowds by the tens of thousands would gather in the Colosseum to watch as Christians were torn apart and eaten by wild animals. Paul Rader, commenting on his visit to this famous landmark, said, “I stood uncovered to the heavens above, where He sits for whom they gladly died, and asked myself, “Would I, could I, die for Him tonight to get this gospel to the ends of the earth?” Rader continued, “I prayed most fervently in that Roman arena for the spirit of a martyr, and for the working of the Holy Spirit in my heart, as He worked in Paul’s heart when He brought him on his handcuffed way back to Rome.”
Those early Christians lived on the threshold of heaven, within a heartbeat of home, no possessions to hold them back.”
Church – Please mark these dates and times on your calendar. Please choose to make one of these dates for an important mission in our community.
Sunday, February 28 from 1 to 4:30 PM
Saturday, March 5 from 9AM to 12:30 PM
Saturday, March 12 from 9AM to 12:30 PM Bad weather make up: Sat. March 19 – 9AM - ?
Remember this quote from Jim Elliot who was speared to death by the Wourani tribes in Ecuador he was attempting to reach for Jesus Christ in 1956. “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” – Journal Entry October 1949
