I'm Rich!

    My youngest son, Brock, is studying American History. It’s the one subject I can help him with, and I enjoy it. I love history! He is currently learning about the incidents that led to the Revolutionary War, and while helping him study, I became fascinated with how much of an influence Patrick Henry was on the thinking of the early colonial patriots. It’s hard to imagine the revolution without him.
    Long before the revolution, Henry was a prominent figure in the colonies, serving as governor of Virginia (before and after independence). He was certainly known for his persuasive eloquence, but had become highly respected because of his success in business and reputation for integrity. Before the Declaration of Independence, he was very wealthy. But he laid it all on the line for the American cause and risked losing everything he owned. He sacrificed most of it for his country and while he did not die in poverty, because so much of his personal wealth was given to “The Cause,” he left only a fraction of what he once had to his descendants. But he left something far more valuable: a legacy of character and faith. In his will, he penned these words:
    “I have now disposed of all my property to my family. There is one thing more I wish I could give them and that is faith in Jesus Christ. If they had that and I had not given them a single shilling, they would have been rich; and if they had not that, and I had given them all the world, they would be poor indeed.”
    How true that is! Think about it. Patrick Henry has now been dead for 210 years. He only lived 63 years. If he had been fabulously wealthy in his lifetime but only in his lifetime, he would have enjoyed it for perhaps, 30-40 years, and then lost it all in death. But in Christ, he received untold riches that he has been enjoying ever since and will continue to delight in for eternity!
    The Apostle Paul, a one time wealthy man, used to love talking about the riches we have in knowing Christ, and the inheritance waiting for us in heaven. In Ephesians he spoke of, “The riches of his grace,” “The riches of his mercy,” and said, “The riches of Christ are unsearchable.” In Romans 10:12 he rejoiced because he and other believers are…. “abounding in riches.”
    Do you believe that? Do you? Do you believe that the riches of Christ are abounding, unsearchable, and already there, ready for our claiming upon arrival in heaven? If so, what are we so uptight about the piddly little materialistic stuff here in this very temporary life? So much more is awaiting us!
    “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” – Jesus (Matthew 6:20)