by Tom Wacaster
In the thirty-three
years that our Lord sojourned upon this earth, He never once demonstrated a
single shred of materialistic desire. I doubt seriously that He ever
scanned the Jerusalem Daily News to see whether the stock market was up or
down, called His bank to see how His investments were doing, or worried as to
how much inflation might be eating away at His little "nest egg"
tucked away in some shady corner of His humble abode. On no occasion do
we find that He carried with Him one single farthing. When He was asked
about paying tribute to Caesar, His disciples had to bring Him the penny, for
He was penniless. His only "purse" was the mouth of a fish that
Peter caught, and when they parted His garments they did not discover any coin
or notes. On one occasion his disciples encouraged Him to eat, but He
said unto them, "I have meat to eat that ye know not..My meat is to do the
will of him that sent me, and to accomplish his work" (John 4:32, 34), and
warned all of us, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth,
where moth and rush doth consume, and where thieves break through and steal:
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rush doth
consume, and where thieves do not break through and steal" (Matt.
6:19-20). He not only preached that message, but lived that message to
its fullest extent. Our Lord never owned any property, never built a
house, never laid by in store, never had a passbook savings account, and never
placed an ounce of importance on what one might possess in this life.
When His life was finished and His course completed, the only thing He could
call His own was stripped from His sinless body and gambled away at the foot of
the cross while their Master and Creator hung on the cross close by.
Having no place to lay His head (Luke 9:58), He found His rest in the homes of
those who were gracious enough to provide His daily sustenance, and grant Him a
place of repose when the day was done.
Today Fortune 500 would
rank our Lord a failure; Forbes Magazine would not waste paper and ink to
mention His name; and few, if any who are enamored with this world's material
things would consider His words worth their attention. This they have demonstrated
by their rejection of things spiritual for the glitter of the world. But
history will attest that the greatest man that ever walked the face of this
earth (if we dare call Him a "man") was the most contented, and the
most influential individual who has ever lived. Though He may have
borrowed those things He needed from time to time, those who were gracious to
"loan" unto HIm what they possessed soon learned that their
"investment" returned mighty dividends that could not be measured in
monetary value. I do not know who penned the following, but it is
certainly thought provoking:
They borrowed a bed to
lay his head
When Christ the Lord
came down;
They borrowed the ass in
the mountain pass
For him to ride to town;
But the crown that he
wore and the cross that he bore
Were his own - the cross
was his own!
He borrowed the bread
when the crowd He fed
On the grassy
mountainside;
He borrowed the dish of
broken fish
With which he was
satisfied;
But the crown that he
wore and the cross that he bore
Were his own - the cross
was his own!
He borrowed the ship in
which to sit
To teach the multitude;
He borrowed a nest in
which to rest -
He had never a home so
rude;
But the crown that he
wore and the cross that he bore
Were his own - the cross
was his own!
He borrowed a room on
his way to the tomb
The Passover Lamb to eat;
They borrowed a cave for
him a grave;
They borrowed a winding
sheet;
But the crown that he
wore and the cross that he bore
Were his own - the cross
was his own!