True Riches that Last

UV 1695/10000 True Riches that Last
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Revelation 3 v 18

To be spiritually rich or rich towards God should be our goal for amassing even all the wealth of this world would still leave us poor, miserable, wretched and naked. We are never to place our confidence in money or our earthly riches that will leave us naked, exposed, miserable and ashamed. We are to be always clothed in the white clothes of salvation that doubles as a spiritual armour of protection. It is white as it should not be tainted by any spot of this world. We are like the prodigal son who returns home to be given a hero’s welcome, new set of clothes, new shoes to go places for the Father, a new belt of truth to hold up our clothes, a ring of authority over all of the spiritual realm of darkness. Instead of shame, we are led by grace into the glory of His kingdom. We do not have to hide in shame like Adam and Eve due to our failures and weaknesses. We will receive grace from the Father to overcome temptations and endure trials. Faith is like a hard currency in this uni-verse with which we can buy anything we need in the Kingdom of God. Only with faith are the promises of the Lord fulfilled in our lives. Only through faith we receive grace. Faith in Jesus is the first step in our 10000 mile journey and the 10000 promises of God are the remaining steps we need to take by faith, implying that we will obtain grace as we believe these promises in a variety of our real life experiences.

Jesus as the Wonderful Counsellor counsels us to get faith that is the equivalent of gold in the human economy. Our faith is to be pure, refined and purged of all impurities and hence, we are allowed to go through suffering and trials by the Father. Faith like gold has a quantitative and qualitative dimension. The more faith we accumulate in our lives and the more refined and pure it is, the richer we are spiritually. Just as gold that is refined in fire reflects the maker’s face in it, our lives and character should reflect the Face of God or the glory of God. Jesus said, “ No man except the Son has seen the Father’s face.” But people see that face in and through our words and actions. Foremost in the qualities of the Father are His love, mercy and grace. Faith that is mature and refined is reflected not in a litany of prayer requests but in the fruit of the Spirit- love, joy, peace, patience, self control, goodness, humility and faithfulness. It is reflected not in the grasping aggressive worldly wisdom but in the gentle wisdom that comes from above that is peaceable, gentle and easy to be entreated.

Only when we develop a faith that is refined and pure , only when we are filled with the fruit of the Spirit can we develop a vision for the Kingdom of God. We will begin to see things from the Lord’s perspective, from the perspective of the eternal, abundant, the possible and the practical. We will not be short sighted or blind. We will practice our faith and not be deceived by the enemy of our souls.

Prateep V Philip