Our riches in Christ

Tim Keller gives us this story:

 

"Imagine you're a billionaire, and you have three ten-dollar bills in your wallet.  You get out of a cab, and you hand the driver one of the bills for an eight-dollar fare.  Later in the day you look in and find out there's only one ten-dollar bill there, and you say, "Either I dropped a ten-dollar bill somewhere, or I gave the taxi driver two bills."

 

He asks, "what are you going to do?"

 

I ask you the same question - what would you do?

 

Get upset?

 

Call the police and demand they search the city for the cabdriver to get your money back?

 

No,  you are going to give a shrug and go on with  your life.   Why is that?  Because you are a billionaire and too rich to be concerned about "just" 10 dollars.

 

Now then, apply that to you life.

 

Somebody criticizes you.

 

You bought something or invested in something that is cheaper or less expensive or valuable than you thought.

 

Something didn't go the way you wanted it to go.

 

What are you going to do?

 

Let is ruin your day, week, month, year?  Nuke your contentment in life?

 

Shake your fist at God and blame him?  "God it is your fault I lost the ten dollars!"

 

Lay awake at night thinking about the ten-dollars (criticism, that situation that didn't go the way you thought it should go)?

 

If you and I do that (and we all do at some point in time) - we don't realize how truly rich we are in God.

 

I would suggest that if you are upset about your status with other people, if you are constantly lashing out at people for hurting your feelings, if you have a lack of self-control or a lack of self-esteem, you have lost the reality of your identity in Christ.

 

My word to you today?  You are a spiritual billionaire and you're wringing your hands over "ten-dollars?"  Remember who you are in Christ.  A child of God.  A saint.  A Christian.  Someone that God sent His only Son to die for.  Heaven will be your home.

 

Just a thought for a Tuesday.