Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.

That is the Kingdom of God.

Don’t you want to be a part of this kingdom?

song by Ron Kenoly – Righteousness, Peace and Joy

 

Once upon a time. There was a man who once lived many many many many years ago. You can actually add a few more “manys to the count. Because really, he lived many years ago. He was a man in his prime. Ginger haired, sturdy and strong. Willful and determined. A man of the world. He was a first born.

This man went out to hunt for meat. He loved to hunt. You can say that he was a man of the wild. Skilled in his craft. He was gifted. His success ratio was often guaranteed. Failure, close to nil. He returned home one day from a hunt, exhausted and famished.

And that is when he saw it. Bubbling on the fire. Dispersing a lovely aroma. Filling his senses. The pot of lentil stew. He saw its Cook stir the pot. And his empty belly yearned for a taste.

But the Cook presented the stew at a price. Not a price in gold, or in silver. Neither a price in wheat nor in barley. But rather, a price in rights. Interesting isn’t it? At what price will anyone be willing to sell their rights?

Let me first state a few rights I learned and probably you may have also learned in Junior High School.

1. The right to move
2. The right to faith/religion
3. The right to speech
4. The right to education, and ultimately;
5. The right to live

There are many other rights. I have just named a few. In fact  I realize that humans are passionate about rights.  We in no way tolerate anything that attempts to impede, intrude, take away or steal them. Nothing should come in the way of our freedom to do x-y-z. We are ready to fight for them. Defend them. Keep them. Many past and present movements are wheeled on the concept of equal rights. Yet I dare say, some of these rights we intensively agitate for are not important in the greater scheme of God’s blueprint of life. I believe the most important to God is right-eousness. 

However, this sturdy, red haired, skilled man made a fatal choice that day as he sat and stared at a bubbling pot of stew. In the seconds of time in which his mind and heart weighed and processed the value of the “right” in question, against the value of the mixture of perhaps tomatoes, onions, garlic and some lentils, the stew tipped the scale.

And in that moment, he gave up his birthright! Now in modern times, the system of birthrights are slightly different, especially with laws that divide inheritance equally and so on. But at that time, your inheritance as a first born meant that the whole of your father’s estate belonged to you at his passing. His blessings and all its associates were handed to the firstborn son as a custodian.

This man named Esau gave it all up for a bowl of stew to fill his stomach one hot afternoon. Mind-blowing right? He devalued his inheritance without once considering the repercussions of his actions. It’s unfortunate to think that many centuries before him another man bit into a fruit in exchange for his inheritance. But that is another story for another day.

Just like Esau, too many times, we exchange things of value for things of no value. Too many unfair and unequal exchanges in our lives. Too many unwise decisions. Too many ungodly choices. I have made a few exchanges of my own. Exchanges that have cost me. Sales that have led to shortfalls in my life. We make them one too many times. But it must stop.

Paul said in Hebrews 12:16 & 17. “Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing- but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.”

Take an account. An account of your; life. Open the balance books. Examine your inflows and outflows. Critically assess your assets and value them. What is eternal? What is temporal? Where have we exchanged our birthrights for stews.

Do you have eternal life in Jesus Christ? If not, what you have is a bowl of stew. It will finish, and very quickly too. Then, what you’ll have is nothing. No eternity.

If you have eternal life. Check your trades. Your futures and your spot buys. Invest and trade in what will last.

We have in us an inheritance of eternal value. 

A vineyard of grapes, a field of wheat in which we must plant seeds of eternal value and harvest fruits of eternal value.

A fishing company of eternal value. Where we fish men from the darkness of the sea to the light of the boat.

A search and rescue mission. Where we seek and find the lost to bring home.

We have a baking company where forever bread is produced. Manna which one eats and never hungers again.

We own a well which springs living water that men drink and never thirst again.

We have an eternal inheritance! Righteousness! We cannot exchange it for the flimsiness of temporal bowls of stew which have great instantaneous taste. No lasting flavor. For it fills us now but not forever. We eventually get hungry again.

The eternal inheritance is different. Look at all the assets listed above. That is 0.166666 of the whole. Such a small fraction. The total value of our eternal inheritance is so much more. Priceless.

Eyes have not seen; neither have ears heard the things that God has prepared for those that love Him.

Choosing Jesus is a wise choice. Submitting to the will of God is a good standpoint. Following the purpose of God is the right direction. Choose wisely.

 

This is an old one. But definitely a classic. Enjoy!