It’s helpful now and again to take inventory. Spiritual inventory, I mean. When expenses are high and the dollar is low, when people are struggling and the government doesn’t seem to care, we need to sit a spell and look up.
Three masterpieces from the Bible will help. They’re linked by their opening phrase and their matching addresses—chapter 1, verses 3-4.
The first one is a real pick-me-upper: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” (Eph 1:3-4)
What does it tell us? That the believer in the Lord Jesus is the richest person in the world! God hasn’t given us some things or most things, but every spiritual blessing! We can live like the royalty we are. We can lavish love on others, spread joy wherever we go, give God’s bounty to earth’s needy. And in Christ we’re selected to live with Him forever in holiness and love. Amazing!
The next one begins the same way: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Cor 1:3-4)
Believers in the Lord Jesus aren’t only the richest people in the world; they’re also the strongest. Did you know that? We often don’t look like it, but it’s true. The word “comfort,” from the Latin com+fortis, means “to add strength.” The Lord has made available to us all the power He used to raise Christ from the dead.
These life-saver words tell us that God not only fortifies us in the troubles we face, but piles it on so we can watch out for others struggling and share some comfort with them. How inspiring when we lock arms with others and smile at the storm! “Let’s do this together,” we can say with God’s help.
Here’s the third beaut: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.” (1 Pet 1:3-4)
The believer in the Lord Jesus is the richest person in the world—as rich as God is, believe it or not—and the strongest person in the world, able to not only survive but thrive in troubled times. But the believer is also the wisest person in the world.
Why would I say that? We may not be wise about a lot of things, but we’ve learned to be wise in the one thing that counts. We’ve figured out that this world has an expiry date, and it’s just about due. Why invest in a losing proposition? Better to have your wealth waiting on the other side.
Why would someone not take Jesus as their Savior? You can see it’s a win–win–win.
Article by Jabe Nicholson first published in the Commercial Dispatch, Saturday, August 26, 2023