If you will make an inventory of what you own in your life,
what would the list include? What would be the majority of items listed there
that would last for eternity?
Leo Tolstoy once wrote a story about a successful peasant
farmer who was not satisfied with his lot. He wanted more of everything. One day he received a novel offer. For 1000
rubles, he could buy all the land he could walk around in a day. The only catch
in the deal was that he had to be back at his starting point by sundown. Early
the next morning he started out walking at a fast pace. By midday he was very
tired, but he kept going, covering more and more ground. Well into the
afternoon he realized that his greed had taken him far from the starting point.
He quickened his pace and as the sun began to sink low in the sky, he began to
run, knowing that if he did not make it back by sundown the opportunity to
become an even bigger landholder would be lost. As the sun began to sink below
the horizon he came within sight of the finish line. Gasping for breath, his
heart pounding, he called upon every bit of strength left in his body and
staggered across the line just before the sun disappeared. He immediately
collapsed, blood streaming from his mouth. In a few minutes he was dead. Afterwards,
his servants dug a grave. It was not much over six feet long and three feet
wide. The title of Tolstoy's story was: How Much Land Does a Man Need? [1]
This is a story that illustrates exactly what the Scripture
stated in Ecclesiastes 5:15 “Naked a man
comes from his mother's womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing
from his labor that he can carry in his hand.” (NIV) What a great truth to
think about the brevity of life. This is the reality of life that we are
confronted with whether we believe it or not. It does not change the fact just
because we have a different opinion about it. That’s why, we need to make a
decision about what matters the most in our existence now and eternity. In other words, we don’t own anything in
this world and Job spoke of it clearly when he lost everything precious in his
life in one day, “and said: "Naked I
came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD
has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."(Job 1:21, NIV)
What should be our attitude to what we claim as our own? The
right attitude must be to recognize that God is the ultimate Source of it all.
However huge the savings in the bank and the size of the house, these are only means
to an end but not the end itself. They only provide us an evidence of God’s
blessing as we are given a lease on life by the real Owner. Having such an
understanding will provide us freedom from being insecure of what we have and
do not have. The real security lies deeply in fully adhering to God’s ownership
of everything we have and we are just but mere stewards. We are assigned
managers of what we claim our own.
Also, to argue that we have gained and acquired all of it through
our own toil and labor is kicking against the pricks. It is still part of the
whole package of God’s gift of life. Therefore, it would be a good practice to
recognize daily that our life is a gift from God. And if you want to own the
most precious asset in life, I would suggest securing one’s eternal future. God
gave His Son to die on the cross for our sins to provide us a Saviour we could
claim our own. C’mon, secure our life with Him and His offer of eternal life and
it will be the most important treasure you will gain today until eternity.
Though we may lose everything in this world but remember that Jesus remains the same
yesterday, today and forever!
Let’s talk again!
