I Am Rich

"You go looking for blessings, you will find them." I was told that today by a cashier in a store I visited on my way home. She is always so cheerful, which is a great blessing to me each time I visit that store. Our conversation and particularly her comment about blessings brought back to my mind the thought I have carried and even shared; I am one of the riches people in the world.

Why would I consider myself among the richest of this world, you may be thinking. I will assure you it is not based on my bank account, stock portfolio, real estate assets or any other form of material wealth. My richness is based on those things that 'money cannot buy'.

First, I am loved. I have always been loved and I will always be loved. There are many people of this world that love me. At times throughout my life I have felt alone and unloved by anyone on this big floating ball called earth; but in fact, there have always been a few, and at times many, who truly love me.

As important as the love of my fellow man may be, it pales to the love of God. God loved me to such a degree that he sent His son to become a sacrifice for me. I am not being arrogant or egotistical with this statement; but for whatever reason He may have, He loved me enough to allow His Son to die for me. Yes, that same Son died for you too. That makes you a potential rich person as well.

This is an unconditional love; never requiring that I be a 'good boy' before He will express His love. I have to do nothing to receive this love. He just loves me.

Second, I am rich because I have a guaranteed job with benefits. When the economic conditions take a down-turn, people begin to worry about the security of their jobs and the possible loss of that very valuable 'benefits package'. I don't have that worry anymore. When God's Son, Jesus, died for me, became a sacrifice for me, and I accepted that sacrifice as payment for the debt I owed, I received an unending job. I was 'saved unto good works'. Don't even go there. I am not speaking of salvation by works, I am speaking of works as the result of salvation.

Just as God called by name Bezaleel in Exodus 31:2, He called me to a special work. If you continue to read further verses after this call to Bezaleel, you will find it was for a particular task and that God had equipped him with all the skills necessary to do the work. I have within me, all the skills necessary to do whatever God calls me to do. You also have those skills to do all that God has in your job description.

I have a guaranteed job if I will only accept it. I have heard the old saying that 'so & so won't work in a pie factory'. I have the choice to respond to God's job offer by saying 'no', but if I do, I am very guilty of disobedience and some of the benefits associated with accepting the job won't be mine.

I have the promise from my employer, if I accept His offer, that He will provide all my needs. I no longer have to be concerned about all the necessities of life. Sure I have to work and do the task assigned by my employer to receive this promise, but I would be very foolish not to accept.

A third, and for now a final, reason I am rich is that I am offered a two-fold guarantee if I accept this work. Guarantee one says that everything I will ever need to perform this job will be freely and timely provided by the employer. I never have to be concerned about budget limitations or break downs in delivery scheduled. Everything I need, and when I need it, is the promise that is made to me.

The second part of this guarantee is that I can't fail. If I accept the position offered to me by God, and do the work assigned to me by God, I can't fail. Yes, if judged by man, I may be a complete flop, but man isn't my employer, so man has no right to judge my performance. The Bible tells us that if we follow Jesus and do His will, we will be hated by man.

Rich beyond belief is what I am. I hate to admit that I don't always follow the work assignments of God, so I must forfeit some of the benefits or maybe I should just say blessings associated with obedience. Sometimes I even fail to show up for work. A day without pay isn't good when God is your employer.

As I think over all of this, I realize it only makes sense even in my feeble brain to be as committed employee and do all that the employer asks of me. If I adhere to His plan, I have it made.

Would you like to be rich? It is very simple. Accept the gift of love the Father gave. Makes sense to me to accept the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross and let His death pay your sin debt. If you decide to accept, then you have eternal job security with fantastic benefits. The choice is yours.