Thursday, June 26, 2008

...go to heaven in a storm.



" I have read of one that did not fear what he did, nor what he suffered, so he might get riches; 'For,' saith he, 'men do not ask how good one is, or how gracious one is, but how rich one is.' Oh, Sirs! the day is a-coming when God will ask how rich your souls are; how rich you are in faith, in wisdom, in knowledge, in fear, etc.; and not how rich you are in money, or in jewels, or in land, or in goods, but how rich are you in grace; which should provoke your souls to strive in the face of all discouragements to be rich in grace. What will not the merchant do, and mariner do, for those temporal riches? Oh the dangers, the hazards, the tempests, the storms, the deaths that they run through for earthly riches, which are never without their sting! And shall not Christians labor in the face of all oppositions after spiritual riches?

It is reported of Vevessan the lawyer, that he should say, 'He that will not venture his body can never be valiant; and he that will not venture his soul will never be rich.' I am sure that man that will not venture, and venture hard, in the face of all discouragements, to be spiritually rich, will never be rich. He may be good in the main, and may go to heaven in a storm; but he will never be rich in spirituals, that will not venture himself to the uttermost for the gain of spiritual riches."

Thomas Brooks - Painting by Christopher Walker

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Rich in spirituals...

amen to that.

MaryMGlynn said...

I like this post!

Joseph Pulikotil said...

This post reminds me of what JESUS CHRIST said: IT IS EASY FOR A CAMEL TO ENTER THE EYE OF A NEEDLE THAN FOR A RICH MAN TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

This post also reminds me of another saying: WHAT GOOD IS IT FOR A MAN TO CONQUER THE WHOLE WORLD BUT SUFFER THE LOSS OF HIS OWN SOUL.

Have a wonderful day!