A note from our Pastor:

“Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”

1 Timothy 6:19

Good Morning Dearly Beloved,

Our study verse this week concludes thoughts the Apostle Paul wrote about wealthy Christians. Keep in mind, the term wealthy is broadly used by the Apostle. Many would not have applied the term to themselves. But in this Jesus and the Apostle were aligned. If one has excess material goods they are wealthy.

The Apostle instructed the wealthy to do good works, to be ready to distribute their wealth, and to have empathy for the less fortunate. He continues that thought in our study verse. A good foundation will be created by these actions. That foundation will be important in the long run.

This instruction points us back to a lesson taught by Christ in Luke chapter twelve. There Jesus told a parable of a rich man who continued to expand his natural goods. As those natural goods grew the rich man put his trust in those goods. But when death visited him in the middle of the night he found no comfort in the wealth he had accumulated. In that lesson, Jesus taught the need for faith in God rather than riches.

The statement in this verse, “against the time to come” refers to a similar circumstance. A moment or a period of time when natural riches cannot soothe the spiritual turmoil. It might be the loss of a loved one, a health crisis, facing death, or many other adverse situations. Doing the good works and distributing wealth to the poor was not going to keep these hard times from happening. But learning to trust in God and have faith in him was laying the foundation to face them.

How do you face those tribulations? By laying hold on eternal life. That does not mean dying and receiving that inheritance. Rather, it means understanding what Christ did to secure our eternal salvation. Knowing God’s love from before the foundation of the world. Knowing that if God loved us and Christ died for us, he will surely care for us in this life. It is only this and not natural wealth that will make it possible to handle the adverse situations this life presents.

Our Prayers are with you daily,

Brother Jeremiah