True value and real riches are not what appear on a balance sheet. I don’t want to devalue the luxury of having one’s bills paid. But we can only wear one pair of shoes at a time and one shirt and one pair of pants. (Well, I guess you can wear more at one time but why?) Real wealth is all about people. Having friends who call you when you are not feeling well, having people who need us, having family surround the dining table on special occasions is what life is about. After eating someone often says, “Let’s go to a more comfortable place to sit.” But, that cannot be. There is no more comfortable place than that table where you can interact face to face. To get up breaks the spell.
In the Old Testament God is a fearsome warrior who fought for His people. In the New Testament Jesus tells to us we should pray to Our Father. Jesus talks about being our friend. Paul speaks of us becoming sons and daughters of God. As the centuries rolled on God continued to reveal Himself to us and each picture was clearer than before. The clearer the picture the more exciting.
I can understand why it is difficult for some people to believe in God. The universe is so vastly endlessly filled with literally zillions of suns. The very idea of a God who controls all of that and who at the same time wants to be our personal friend is truly outrageous and preposterous. It seems as if we would believe that we could be accused of being the ultimate egoists. Go ahead call us names. That’s okay. Because with a friend like Jesus we are really really rich.
Written by Roger Bothwell on April 26, 2013
Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org