Rich toward God

A woman from California called me today.  She had once visited a Greybull church.  Her 10-year-old granddaughter was facing health issues with a tumor on her hand that had been growing for over a year and was having to travel six hours away to the cancer hospital in San Francisco so she was calling everyone she could think of that might be willing to pray for this child.

Of course, we immediately prayed for her, reviewing God’s exceeding great and precious promises whereby we rise above the paltry offerings of this world.  We found solace in the words of Exodus 12:26 where God proclaimed, “I am the Lord that healeth thee.”  (Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord who heals.)  And we recalled Isaiah 53:6: “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our  peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed,” which is also found in 1 Peter 2:24.  

We often think money is all we need to meet the trials and circumstances we meet daily but some things cannot be addressed with money.  Broken hearts, depression, anxiety, loneliness, friendlessness are not mended by money.  Most heart issues are not mended through a monetary poultice.  Solomon’s life assessment boiled down to everything is vanity.  (Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14 and 2:18 – 23)

But we, like the rich man in Luke 12 building larger barns to house our possessions (storage units), are not rich toward God.  Our investments are mostly in things.  Then, when we die, our children tell us they’ll just have a big yard sale or garage sale so they can get money to purchase the things they want instead of valuing what their parents and grandparents appreciated.  

Perhaps our investments should resemble the picture painted in the verses of Colossians 3.  So if we have been raised with Christ (if we are born again), seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, setting our minds on things that are above not on things on the earth.  If we are born again, we have died to ourselves and our life is hidden with Christ in God.  We should focus on getting rid of things like fornication, impurity, passions, evil desires and greed which is idolatry, anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language coming out of our mouths. Don’t lie to each other. But rather, let us clothe ourselves with the new self which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of our creator.

When describing the kingdom of God, Jesus said it is not meat and drink (Romans 14:7).  It is not in earthly valuables, but in righteousness. (Not the filthy rags we honor, our fig leaves of good works, but in the righteousness of Christ who paid the penalty for our sin.)  Peace (John 14:27 – not as the world give but the peace which passes understanding of Philippians 4:7) and joy in the Holy Ghost (the joy of the Lord is our strength. Nehemiah 8:10).

(Cathy Bayert is pastor of Greybull First Baptist Church.)