Saturday, November 25, 2017
John 10:10 I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
WHAT MONEY COULD NEVER BUY
Daily we are tempted to believe that our personal happiness is based on the amount of earthly possessions we own. "He who dies with the most toys wins!" is today's attitude. This is in sharp contrast to what Jesus ways: "What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (Mark 8:36).
How can we tell if we've begun to be sold on the "buy it and you'll be happy" sales pitch of the world? We could look at our offerings to the Lord. Is a love for material things keeping us from giving the Lord our firstfruits? We could look at how much time we spend at work. Does a desire for more of this world's goods cause us to spend so much time working that it cuts into the amount of time we spend with God's Word? We could look at our decision to be a double-income family. Maybe both we and our spouse do need to work in order to make enough money to clothe, feed, and shelter the family. But maybe both spouses work because dad doesn't make enough to buy the things the world says we need to make us happy.
Only with the Lord can we evaluate these things as we ought. Only with Him can our hearts see that true satisfaction and contentment are the result of knowing His Son by faith.
Whether we always fully realize it or not, with Jesus we have what money could never buy!
* We have forgiveness and peace for our guilt-tormented hearts.
* We have the guarantee that God hears and answers all our prayers.
* We have the assurance that all things in this sin-troubled world work for our good.
* We have an escape from death and hell.
* We have the resurrection of the body and eternal life.
* We have the Word and Spirit to lift us above the worldly idea of what true happiness is all about, so that we can discover once again that happiness is all about knowing Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
-- Adapted from the "Lutheran Spokesman"
