"HOW RICH AM I TOWARDS GOD?!"

"A weekly Devotional" by Gbile Akanni"

The conclusion of the matter of this Timely Warning is:

“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.”Luke 12:20-21 KJV

Stock taking is a crucial part of every business that must thrive. So is it with the Christian life. Even if you choose not to be a Christian, this does not exempt you from taking stock of how you have been living your life daily within the short time we are to spend on this side of eternity. How rich am I towards God? And you, how rich are you towards God?

One day I was driving behind an army truck. I wanted to overtake it but the Holy Spirit said I should wait. I had followed this vehicle for more than ten kilometers. It was carrying a corpse. Soldiers were inside with the late man’s wife and children. I was following that truck like that, wanting to overtake but the Lord said, “wait.” Then one man came from behind at high speed and overtook me. But as he wanted to overtake the truck, he saw a Road Safety Corps vehicle (a Nigerian Road traffic law enforcement agency) coming about 300 meters away. He wanted to dodge; and had he tried to enter between my car and the truck, he would have hit my car (that would have been trouble for me). So instead, he went and hit the truck. The front part of the car went under the truck’s tire, lifted it up and the truck started to somersault. I have never seen such a thing.

Imagine what happen to that woman whose husband had died. The corpse was inside the truck and they were on their way to his village to bury him. There and then she lost three of her children, her younger brother and another person who was escorting the dead also died. Seven people died. As I was looking at them, the Holy Spirit said, “It could have been you. The devil aimed at you. But I gave the lives of men for your ransom.” I just pulled my car aside and parked, w ith no scratch, nothing. Then all of us inside came out. People, who were talking, chatting and laughing in that truck a few minutes before, were all gone. It was such a horrible sight and tragedy.

The question I asked myself was that if I had died what of all the plans for revival meetings I was having? What would have happened? On that day I was coming from a village where we went to do a crusade. We were seven in the car. Seven of us were exchange for seven others. God said it could have been us. My life could have been over. I would have been one of ‘the late’ now. Then I took stock and said, “Lord, what could I have missed?” Nothing! No fat bank account. The only thing I could have missed was preaching.

As we were pulling those dead people out, the woman was wailing and saying, “You this wicked husband, why did you treat me like this? If you wanted to die you should have died alone. Why did you carry all my children away? What am I living for?” Yes, what was she living for? What is life? Are you not a fool that you are spending all your life on the peripherals? You have no connection with heaven. You have never thought, “Where should I invest my life? Where will I spend eternity? What am I sending to heaven? What am I sending to eternity?”

Can you also take stock of your life even now? May be you are sixty years or forty-five or even thirty years. How much of those thirty years have you invested for heaven? Just think about it. Thirty years, you have always been a student, collecting papers and because of this, you have no time to be useful to God. When anybody calls you for Bible Study or Soul-winning, you refuse. Your excuse has always been that you are busy. You say you are doing something so that you will be comfortable tomorrow. Are you not a fool? This past forty-five years that you have been alive, you are yet to spend even one year to do anything for Jesus. You have money both in the bank and at home. Some people may even be so careless that their wives don’t know their bank account. If you are like that, if you die now other people will collect your money and your children will suffer. Aren’t you a fool? The reason why I am raising this matter is because Jesus raised it, and it has delivered me from being foolish. Whatever decision must be made should be made now. If you do not invest in people, in salvation of souls and in eternity, what are you investing your life on? The many houses that some of us have built, how many of them do we sleep in at the same time?

Lord, I know how many years I am today. I don’t even know how many years are remaining for me here on earth. I want to invest whatever is remaining in eternal things. Please give me opportunity, open an account for me in heaven, and let my life not be a waste. Help me to do all I could, while I am yet able, to be rich towards you. I don’t want to live my life serving money and other interests. I would not want to spend my life on ordinary politics if it is not to establish God’s kingdom here on earth.

Has God blessed you? Are you very intelligent? Has God allow this ground in your life to bring forth plentifully? How rich are you even in this towards God? You may even be one of the top men in your profession; what will you do with it? How much are you achieving for Jesus out of this, thereby making yourself rich towards God? A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of those things which he possesses. The owner of this life we are presently living may request for it any time. So shall it be for anyone who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God. This is yet another chance for me to change my state towards God. Even for what God will call me at the end of my race here on earth, depends on what will be my response to this promptings from this His sayings!
‘Wise and rich towards God’ or ‘A fool and wretched’, as far as eternity is concern; choose yours!!!