Imagine with me, if you will, a mysterious benefactor. This benefactor began making deposits in your account long, long ago. Whenever you were in need, he was there to fill that need no matter what it was. Clothes, food, education, money, job opportunities, people you met, healthcare, comfort – whatever it was, he took care of it for you.
How long would you go before you began to be curious to know who exactly your benefactor was?
Well, you knew who he was. Sort of. You knew his name, anyway, and you remember the stories you were told about him when you were a kid. Your mother and grandmother both knew him well. And you knew he was real because of all the blessings! You just never really gave him much thought.
At first you would read the letters he sent that went along with the blessings, but eventually life, well, it just became so busy that you often forgot about them. You knew he was always there, so you planned on one day making the effort to get to know him better. Just not now. You just graduated from high school, and now college – wow – it was just around the corner! After all, you thought, he was always there, and there was always time.
The older you grew, the faster life flew by. College – that was years ago. Marriage, two children, divorce. Where was your benefactor then, you wondered? You had not heard from him in a while. Career – head of your department, congratulations! Yes, you are busy for sure. You could sense your benefactor was still there, even through the hard times. Maybe one of these days soon. There was always time to work on that later.
Besides that, you were paying it forward! You made sure you donated food to the food pantry and all your unwanted clothes to the homeless shelter! You picked out a kid for the angel tree every Christmas and donated generously to the children’s hospital!
Life was smooth sailing now. Your work ethic had paid off and retirement was just around the corner. You rarely heard from your benefactor these days. Retirement was a blessing for sure, but boy you earned that one yourself – every penny! It would be nice if your relationship with your oldest was better, but there didn’t seem to be anything you could do about that now. There was always time to work on that one later, too.
Then it happened.
The benefactor, the one who had given you all those blessings all those years, even the retirement – he was also the one that gave you every breath you ever breathed. And now the time had come. You had lived all the days on earth that were ordained for you from before you were ever born, and this was the moment. Now you stand before him. What will you say? What will he say to you?
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store 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 your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 NASB
“We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” John 6:69 NASB
“But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ” Philippians 3:7-8 NASB
Alabastersky 