Some years ago there came to this country a very poor young man. He found a job in the timber lands of Wisconsin. Being industrious he gradually accumulated some timber acreage of his own. Soon be began to prosper, and after a few years he invested in a lumber milling industry. It was not long after that until he owned more than one mill. This led him to expand into northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. Before long he was very rich, investing in timber acreage in the far northwest and eventually owning valuable land by the thousands of acres, the very finest timber in the country. At the time of his death neither he nor his relatives nor friends knew what he was worth financially, so wealthy had he become.
When the time came for him to die, however, he could not take one cent of his riches with him, for as I Tim. 6:7 says: βWe brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.β
It seems difficult for most men to learn that βa manβs life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possessethβ (Luke 12:15). They close their ears to the words of wisdom spoken by our Lord:
βLay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and stealβ (Matt. 6:19, 20).
The truest, most lasting riches of all are referred to in II Cor. 8:9 where the Apostle Paul says:
βFor ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.β
And these riches may be had by faith β by accepting them as a gift, for βthe gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lordβ (Rom. 6:23). source
