I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. - Luke 16:9 (NIV)
When we agree to be apart of the New Covenant we become citizen of a new nation. This nation is the body of Christ, the Church. The supreme leader of this nation is Jesus. He becomes the leader of every aspect of our lives. Including all our material possessions; home, car, clothes, money, you name it.
We find a great story that illustrates this verse in Victor Hugo’s "Les Miserables". Jean Valjean, the subject of the novel, steals a loaf of bread. As a result he spends nineteen years in prison and, when finally released, finds it difficult to escape his past. On one occasion, taken in by the kindly Monseigneur Bienvenue, he finds himself unable to resist temptation and, in the middle of the night, steals some silverware. He does not get far before being captured by the police. The next day he is brought back to the house to return the valuables. He is startled at the Monseigneur Bishop’s response. “Ah! here you are!” he exclaimed, looking at Jean Valjean. “I am glad to see you. Well, but how is this? I gave you the candlesticks too, which are of silver like the rest, and for which you can certainly get two hundred francs. Why did you not carry them away with your forks and spoons? My friend,before you go, here are your candlesticks. Take them.” He stepped to the chimney-piece, took the two silver candlesticks, and brought them to Jean Valjean.
Jean Valjean was trembling in every limb. He took the two candlesticks mechanically. Confused, he was like a man on the point of fainting. The Bishop drew near to him, and said in a low voice: “Do not forget, never forget, that you have promised to use this money in becoming an honest man.”
Jean Valjean, who had no recollection of ever having promised anything, remained speechless. The Bishop had emphasized the words when he spoke them. He resumed with solemnity: “Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I buy from you; I withdraw it from black thoughts and the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God.”
This becomes the turning point in Valjean’s life, and the remainder of the novel traces the reverberations of grace in his life. When we read this account of mercy and compassion and see its impact in the recipient’s life, we see Jesus words put into action.
The moral of the story is: Use possessions to serve people, rather than accommodating it for yourself, because you are only God's managers of anything you have. If giving your possessions away leads to the salvation of a single soul remember they're no longer your possessions. They belong to Jesus. A persons soul is more valuable then all our material possessions put together. The grip you use to hold onto them will reveal who the Lord of your life really is.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/TheWayToJesus/posts/?ref=page_internal
Comments
Post a Comment