Three people fervently discussed how
they had each crashed on a deserted island, and how they had each come to be
rescued.
The Canadian began: "I was rescued within a week. All
I needed to do is write S.O.S. on the sand of the beach. It wasn't too bad!"
The German laughed: "That's nothing. I was rescued
within three days."
"How did you do that?" The Canadian asked,
flabbergasted.
"Simple. I built a bon-fine and the German authorities
noticed it."
"Not bad!" Said the American, "but I was rescued
within 3 hours."
"3 hours! That's impossible!" Exclaimed both the
Canadian and the German.
"It's simple. I wrote in big letters on the sand:
OIL."
A glint of mischief danced in my youngest son's eye as
he
told me this joke. We were visiting the Eastern
Passage in Nova Scotia at the time, and with a big grin on his face, he bent
down and drew the word "OIL" in the sand.
"That was just a joke," I told him. "It won't really
happen, especially not here!"
"Really?" Was his innocent response. "Then why is
there a helicopter up in the sky?"
Sure enough, there was one!
And then the same thing happened in Bar Harbor, Maine.
Again my son drew the word "OIL" on the sand, and five minutes later, a
helicopter was hovering over our heads.
Coincidence?
We got a kick out of these incidences, but in all
reality, our world is dominated by an obsession for money. "The more the better"
has become the philosophy of many. But did you notice that those who are rich
are often never satisfied? They tend to always want more and more.
According to the standards of this world, most people
in North America and Europe are rich. Don't believe it? Then compare the average
welfare checks to the income of the majority of the world's population, who earn
a dollar or less a day! Those in the western world ARE rich, and we don't even
know it!
"But I don't feel like I am rich," you may say.
But in truth, those who the western world considers
rich don't necessarily feel rich either! Otherwise why would they always be
striving for more?
The same is true spiritually. Here in the West we have
an abundance of knowledge, spiritual knowledge, but so often we don't know what
to do with it. People from less fortunate countries would welcome our knowledge
with open arms.
But how regularly do we use this knowledge? How often
do we share, even with our closest friends, the beauty of the gospel message?
How frequently do we portray love to one another? It's as if we have built
ourselves a walking, fortified, bullet-proof hut where no one is welcome unless
invited, and even then these are scrutinized carefully.
Jesus sees our actions completely differently: "I know
your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the
other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit
you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need
a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and
naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become
rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and
salve to put on your eyes, so you can see." (Rev 3:15-18 NIV)
Truly Jesus does not see us
to often
as being spiritually rich at all. His richness comes
from the heart: "Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor
in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he
promised those who love him?" (James 2:5 NIV)
"Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." (1 Cor 8:1
NIV)
Maybe it's time we stop drawing the word "oil" in the
sand, and instead, start building up those in need. A life is shallow if it
can't share love from High above.
May our eyes be opened about our true condition. May
we wake up and start covering our nakedness (We truly aren't that attractive to
the world!) with
the love that shines forth from Christ. Only then will we truly be rich!
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.