William Randolph Hearst, the multimillionaire newspaperman was a great collector of art. One day Mr. Hearst found a description of some valuable items he wanted to own. He ordered his art agent abroad to find them. After months of searching, the agent reported that he had finally traced down these valuable pieces of ancient art. They were in Mr. Hearst’s warehouse. Hearst had been searching frantically for treasures he already owned. Had he read his own catalog he would have discovered he already had that for which he was looking.
Could we be guilty of this same mistake? Paul tells the Ephesians, “To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” Paul is saying he is preaching to us about the unsearchable riches of Christ, riches we should now possess. Do we know what we already have, or are we like Hearst who was looking for what he already possessed?
What are these treasures? Are they tangible things like the art treasurers Mr. Hearst coveted? Paul told us to “Covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet show I unto you a more excellent way.”
The more excellent way Paul was referring to was love, the agape, self-sacrificing kind of love which we are to covet, according to Paul.
Paul, in writing to Timothy, gave him this advice, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” So the gifts and riches we should covet are those that lead to eternal life, not uncertain riches. Agape, self-sacrificing love, is one of those gifts — one we want to possess and also give. Do we already have these riches? If we check our catalog, our Bible, we find that we already possess one of the best gifts, the complete self-sacrificing love of God. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son…;” this kind of love is rich in the things that really count because God gave His beloved son so we can have the opportunity to escape our mortality and have eternal life.
What a wonderful gift, what true riches! Notice this gift required Jesus to give himself. “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” The method by which God provided salvation was through the sacrifice of His son.
We must respond by believing and living a faithful life. “That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” God has richly blessed us and we should show our love for Him by being rich in good works. Not that works will earn us a reward, but rather that a life of faithful service to our Lord is an example of the true riches that will stand us in good stead in the time to come so that we, at Christ’s coming, may lay hold on eternal life.
Mr. Hearst died with his warehouses full of his treasures. Jesus reminded us of the rich man who died with his barns full. “But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Let us make sure that we are rich toward God by storing up a good foundation for the time to come, that we may lay hold on eternal life.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One