Gain that is Loss
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and heart. The gaining of the inheritance was his absorbing theme.
Jesus, the King of glory, who was rich, yet for our sake became poor,
was opening to him the treasures of divine love. The Holy Spirit
was pleading with him to become an heir of the inheritance that is
“incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away.”
1 Peter 1:4
.
He had seen evidence of the power of Christ. Now the opportunity
was his to speak to the great Teacher, to express the desire uppermost
in his heart. But like the man with the muck rake in Bunyan’s allegory,
his eyes were fixed on the earth. He saw not the crown above his head.
Like Simon Magus, he valued the gift of God as a means of worldly
gain.
The Saviour’s mission on earth was fast drawing to a close. Only a
few months remained for Him to complete what He had come to do, in
establishing the kingdom of His grace. Yet human greed would have
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turned Him from His work to take up the dispute over a piece of land.
But Jesus was not to be diverted from His mission. His answer was,
“Man, who made Me a judge or a divider over you?”
Jesus could have told this man just what was right. He knew the
right in the case; but the brothers were in a quarrel because both were
covetous. Christ virtually said, It is not My work to settle controversies
of this kind. He came for another purpose, to preach the gospel, and
thus to arouse men to a sense of eternal realities.
In Christ’s treatment of this case is a lesson for all who minister in
His name. When He sent forth the twelve, He said, “As ye go, preach,
saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the
lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely
give.”
Matthew 10:7, 8
. They were not to settle the temporal affairs of
the people. Their work was to persuade men to be reconciled to God.
In this work lay their power to bless humanity. The only remedy for
the sins and sorrows of men is Christ. The gospel of His grace alone
can cure the evils that curse society. The injustice of the rich toward
the poor, the hatred of the poor toward the rich, alike have their root
in selfishness, and this can be eradicated only through submission to
Christ. He alone, for the selfish heart of sin, gives the new heart of
love. Let the servants of Christ preach the gospel with the Spirit sent
down from heaven, and work as He did for the benefit of men. Then
such results will be manifest in the blessing and uplifting of mankind
as are wholly impossible of accomplishment by human power.