 |
|
An
Outreach Publication of the Church of Christ at
Creekwood |
|
How Much Do You Own? George Washington Truett was a preacher in Dallas for
47 years. He once visited a wealthy West Texas rancher
and had dinner in his huge ranch home.
After dinner, the rancher took Dr. Truett up to
a veranda on top of his house, and lit up a big cigar.
The sun was setting, and if you've ever been to West
Texas, you know you can see a long way out there. The
man pointed to the -SOUTH- toward some oil rigs
and said, "I own everything in that direction as
far as you can see." He pointed -EAST-
toward some cotton fields and said, "And I own
everything in that direction, too." He pointed -NORTH-
toward a huge herd of cattle and bragged,
"And, preacher, I own everything as far as you
can see in that direction." He turned to the -WEST-
and said, "And I own everything you can see in
that direction, except the sun, of course."
Dr. Truett
turned to the man and pointed straight up into the sky
and said.... It's
a sobering question for all of us!
We are surrounded constantly by the
"things" of this world, and it is so easy to
think that these "things" are the things
that matter most -- a nice car, a nice home, nice
clothes (and don't forget all the necessary electronic
gadgets!). And
so, if we're not careful, we may seek to accumulate
more and more, without regard to our relationship with
God. As the
rich fool discovered in Luke 12, we will ALL
one day be FORCED to recognize that the
material things we have accumulated have NO" eternal" value. Jesus
said, "Do NOT lay up for yourselves treasures
on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where
thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your TREASURE is, there your HEART
will be also." (Mat 6:19-21) In order to “lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven,” we MUST be included in God’s family. The treasures of heaven are God’s inheritance to His children (Romans 8:16-17). To become a child of God... one must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Acts 16:31), repent of sin (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), be baptized INTO Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38), AND live faithfully to the Heavenly Father (Revelation 2:10). Now, how much do YOU own in THAT direction?God bless you.
David A. Sargent,
Minister
-- Alan
Smith, Thought for the Day
(1/29/03), White House Church of Christ, White House,
Tennessee -- www.TFTD-online.com To Subscribe to "Living Water" send a blank e-mail to:
HTML version: subscribe-livingwater@lyris.dundee.net Follow this link to locate the church of Christ nearest you: www.churchsearch.org Archived issues of "Living Water" can be accessed from our website at: www.creekwoodcc.org
|