Isaiah 55:6-7 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
The following is not a true story but it’s worthwhile and too good not to share!
There once was a wealthy man from upstate New York. Among other things, he owned much land, property and cattle. His beautiful estate was worth many millions. Even with all his wealth, however, he was very unhappy. His wife was growing old and the couple was childless. He had always wanted a son to carry on the family legacy.
Years later, his wife miraculously became pregnant and gave birth to a little boy. The boy was severely handicapped but the man loved him with his whole heart. When the little one was five, his mother died of cancer. Through this difficult time, his father drew closer to his special son. At thirteen, the boy’s birth defects cost him his life and sadly his father, too, died shortly after, from a broken heart.
When the estate was auctioned, hundreds of bidders came from all over, as there were many beautiful antiques and such to be auctioned. Everyone sat and waited with expectancy. However, the first item offered was only a simple painting of the boy. No one was interested. They waited like vultures for the riches.
Finally, one of the housemaids, a sweet woman who helped raise the boy, offered the little she had for the picture and easily took the bid. “Wait a moment, — there’s something here.” he said. Everyone watched as the auctioneer ripped off an envelope taped to the back of the picture. In it was a hand written will which said: “To the person who thinks enough of my son to buy this painting, to this person I give my entire estate.”
The auction was over and the greedy crowd left in an uproar.
How many of us have sought after what we thought were true riches only to find out later that our Father was prepared to give us His entire estate if we had only sought after His Son alone?
All of us are guilty of seeking out things other than Jesus alone. May God forgive us! And may we choose today, to let go of our own desires and cling to His! God has such amazing things prepared for those who do.