____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER ____________________________________________________ "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ December 7, 2003 ____________________________________________________ Contents: 1) Vain Riches Vs. True Wealth (Tom Edwards) 2) Forever Known -- or Forever Forgotten? (Tom Edwards) ____________________________________________________ -1- Vain Riches Vs. True Wealth While in Philadelphia recently, I enjoyed a new Bible class that Andy Brown was beginning on the book of Ecclesiastes. By starting with the summation of the whole duty of man, which Solomon expresses as a conclusion in the last two verses of the book (12:13,14: to "Fear God, and keep His commandments"), we are enabled to better understand all the futility that the great wisdom writer is referring to throughout the bulk of his book. For, in essence, life -- even with much pleasure, riches, fame, etc. -- is all vain without God to make one's life complete and give genuine purpose and meaning to it. In other words, even if we became financially successful, amassed many possessions, lived in regal luxury, had numerous servants, abounded in a collection of fine works of valuable art, were always in the best of health, and enjoyed life to the full every day -- but all this was done without God in our lives -- then what value or profit would these things be to us when we enter eternity? Will they help us when we stand before God in the judgment day? Or will they somehow make eternity better for us? And even before then, how much closer will these material things bring us to God while we live on earth? Will they contribute toward our having a better relationship with the Lord in this realm of time? Think of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). Lazarus was a poor beggar whose body was afflicted with sores; and was, apparently, lame for he was laid at the rich man's gate, where he doesn't seem to have even had the ability to move away from the dogs that had come to lick his sores and pester him. But one thing that Lazarus had -- that the rich man did not -- was salvation in God that would lead to an eternity in heaven. None of the wealth of the rich man could buy that; but it could have been for him, too, if he would have accepted the way of the Lord. As we now think of these two individuals, which one really had the greatest (or most valuable) possession while on earth? Clearly, it was the poor beggar Lazarus! None of the rich man's wealth could be taken with him, nor be used toward buying him out of torment. It reminds me of the story of two men at a funeral of a very wealthy individual. One of them, while thinking of the millions of dollars the deceased had probably accumulated in his life, asked the other, "I wonder how much he left behind?" The terse reply is then given: "All of it." If one's only goal in life, therefore, were to amass a great fortune for oneself, then that goal will perish when that person dies. It is easy to see why Solomon would refer to this type of striving as being vain or futile, a "striving after wind." Have you ever tried to catch the wind in your hand? The moment you think you have grabbed it, it ceases to be wind. And that rich man who died, as any person also would, left this world with empty hands -- without even a penny to take with him, regardless of how much wealth he had amassed. If all his efforts, therefore, merely pertained to matters of this life, then he was very unprepared for the eternity that awaited him. There is nothing wrong in being wealthy per se, and God made various people of the Bible extremely rich (Job and Solomon, for instance); but a love for money "is the root of all sorts of evil" (1 Tim. 6:10), which can lead to "ruin and destruction" (v. 9). And those who are pursuing only that, while forgetting about or ignoring God, are very foolish. Such was the case of the rich, productive farmer, who had to tear down his barns in order to build larger ones to store his grains and goods. With all that, he now felt that he could take his ease for many years, "eat, drink, and be merry," to enjoy the fruit of his labor. But listen to the Lord's rebuke: "You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?" Jesus then likens this to "...the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God" (Luke 2:20,21). Similarly, consider Paul's command to Timothy, which also shows us how we can be "rich toward God": "Instruct those who are rich in the present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed" (1 Tim. 6:17-19). Yes, we can be "rich in good works" to the glory of God. We are reminded, too, of the Lord's exhortation in Matthew 6:19-21, which also shows the great advantage of heavenly treasures over the earthly: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon 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 or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." So, in conclusion, worldly riches do not help us in obtaining a relationship with God that will lead to eternal life. Only those treasures that are spiritual in nature, and will help us gain entrance into God's realm of heaven, have a true value that far surpass that of any other. Though it is not wrong to be wealthy or to be blessed with creature comforts, let us never forget the exceeding value of God's spiritual treasures. For as we see in two of the short parables of the Lord (the parable of the hidden treasure [Matt. 13:44] and the pearl of great price [vv. 45,46]), which both symbolize the value of God's kingdom, the individual in each parable sold all that he had in order that he could obtain that treasure. And that, therefore, is what God's kingdom ought to mean to us as well -- that we will truly be exalting the spiritual over the physical. As Jesus states in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you." The "these things" pertain to physical necessities of life, but we need to be even more concerned with the spiritual things of God, for that is where we will find true and lasting value. ____________________________________________________ -2- Forever Known -- or Forever Forgotten? by Tom Edwards From his lesson on Ecclesiastes, Andy Brown had also broached another concept from this book that I had been giving some serious thought to several months prior: One day, there will come a time, in which we will no longer be remembered on this earth. Like to the billions of people who have come and gone that we never even knew existed, even so, we will one day be just like that ourselves, to this world. So to them, it will be not as if we passed into oblivion; but, rather, it will be more like we never even existed to begin with. Sad, isn't it? -- and, perhaps, humbling, too. Even in my own family, I have no idea when it comes to more than just a few generations back of whom my father and mother descended from -- with the exception of Adam and Noah being part of our family tree, just like in yours. My father's grandparents were all foreigners: his mother's people came from Germany; and his father's, from Wales; and with my father having been born in 1902, that would put the birth of his grandparents probably around the mid 1800's; but I don't even know that for sure. So I realize that even if I had children, I would soon be forgotten -- through even my own family line -- in later generations to come. It's a very touching passage in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, when young Pip describes what he imagines his parents must have looked like -- since he had never seen them (even in pictures). His concept of their appearance is [irrationally] based on the style of the letters that were used to engrave their names in their tombstone. Pip states, "The shape of the letters on my father's gave me an odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair. From the character and turn of the inscription, `Also Georgiana Wife of the Above,' I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly." I imagine there was that longing that Pip had to really know who his parents were and to be known by them, to be loved by them. How important it often is to us to know and to be known, to love and to be loved. It's what good relationships are based on. When we think about some of the greatest words, when truly expressed from one person's heart to another, how about that often-stated, timeless phrase, "I love you"? We want people that we love to know that we love them -- especially that "special someone" in our lives. We also want to know their love for us. These ideas ring out in many a song. "Getting to Know You" was certainly a memorable piece to the musical play, "The King and I." And the old Civil War song, "Do They Miss Me at Home?," expresses the comfort in knowing that there are others who care and are thinking about them. The first stanza, for example, tells us: "Do they miss me at home, do they miss me? T'would be an assurance most dear, To know that this moment some loved one Were saying, `I wish he were here'; To feel that the group at the fireside were thinking of me as I roam, -- Oh, yes, t'would be joy beyond measure, To know that they missed me at home...." It seems that we do want to be remembered in loving ways. So could you imagine what it would be like to go off into an eternity in which you were no longer remembered, nor had anyone there to know forevermore? To be in total isolation as an unforgotten entity, alone, and in darkness? How sad and gloomy that would be. Of course, in hell -- even if people can know each other there -- there will be no enjoyable or meaningful relationships. Therefore, just being alone in darkness for all eternity would probably be much better, but that is not an option. But let us put a happy ending to this article: the kind that the Lord wants to see (and many of us as well). For the faithful Christian is one who will never be forgotten! "...God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name..." (Heb. 6:10). Specifically, in this verse it pertains to what they did "in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints"; but, surely, God remembers all of our works of love; and we, therefore, need to concentrate on showing "...the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that..." we "...will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises" (Heb. 6:11-12). The promise we are striving for is heaven itself; and there, not only will the faithful child of God be known by the Lord forevermore, but also the saved will always know each other in that perfect land of bliss. There will be recognition after this life. This is inferred from the rich man's acknowledgement of Lazarus, after they had both passed away (Luke 16:19-25). David also knew that he would be able to go to his deceased son who would be in heaven (2 Sam. 12:23), even though there will probably be millions of saved people there. It might very well be, however, that the saved will not remember the lost when time is no more. For though many a lost soul has been grieved over, wept over, and prayed for by the child of God, there will be no grieving nor mourning in heaven; no sadness nor sorrow of any kind will be there. Heaven will be a place of eternal joy and gladness, of comfort and blessing, and of peace and tranquility -- and all without interruption or pause. So it would seem (and a speculation on my part) that the saved in heaven will not be thinking about the lost who are burning in hell and suffering eternally. That they, instead, will be forgotten -- and regardless of how well we had known and loved them while on earth. Of all of whom we should want to be "remembered" by, surely it should be God -- foremost -- and for Him to recognize us as those of His own. So that when that great judgment day comes, instead of hearing the Lord say, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matt. 7:23); we will hear Him say something similar as in the parable of the talents, "Well done, good and faithful slave...enter into the joy of your master" (Matt. 25:21). So think about it: being in a perfect realm (heaven), where you will not only be forever known, but will be forever loved and will love, will be at peace, will rejoice, will deeply reverence and worship God with a heart that will always flow with veneration for Him, will never grow weary, will never be hungry, will never suffer (emotionally or physically), will never become sick, will never die, will never be mistreated, will never have a bad relationship, will never be disappointed, will never grieve, will never be tempted, will never be rejected, will never see or hear of any of the sins that have marred our earth and vexed us, will have faith and hope replaced by sight, will have all needs abundantly met, will never want to leave, will always be content, will never worry, will never be troubled, will never have reason to complain, will have a glorified body, will know God more than ever before, will never cease to be glad and thankful for salvation and eternal redemption, and will be blessed forevermore. If this sounds like something you want (and you're not on the road for it yet), then why not give your life to Jesus while there is time? He can put you on that highway that will lead to the mansions of glory in heaven itself. To get on that road, we must hear God's word (Rom. 10:17; Rom. 1:16), believe in Jesus (Jn. 8:24), repent of our sins (Acts 2:38), confess our faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts 8:36-38), be baptized in water (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet. 3:21). And then, as God's child, we need to continue down that road by our faithfulness (Rev. 2:10; Heb. 10:36-39). For salvation can be lost, if after having been saved we go back into sin (and don't repent and return to God) (2 Pet. 2:20-22; Jms. 5:19,20). So let us all not only start out on that highway to heaven, but also faithfully continue on it, without veering from our destination, until the journey is complete. The thought of being known and loved forever and being able to know and love in return in a place called heaven is very appealing to me. I hope it will also be for you, and that your desire for that will motivate you into your obedience to the gospel (as shown above). ____________________________________________________ MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST 1022 Myrtle Street Denham Springs, LA 70726 (225) 664-8208 Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM Wednesday: 7:00 PM evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520 e-mail: tedwards@onemain.com web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go ____________________________________________________