Becky and I visited the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.  It is the largest privately owned home in America.  Built in 1895, after having taken six years to complete.  George W. Vanderbilt invested his time, talent and money to create the finest in architecture, landscape and interior design.  Mr. Vanderbilt liked to travel and during his travels he collected furnishings and artwork from around the world.  He also loved books (man after my own heart), and had 23,000 in his personal library.  Words and pictures fall short to the magnitude of this family estate.  I say all that to say this, “and he died.”  Mr. Vanderbilt died at the age of 52 from complications during an appendectomy.   A sense of sadness came over me as I toured the estate.  I wondered if he had made heaven his home through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  He invested so much in the temporal earthly treasures, but did he invest in the eternal heavenly treasures (cf. Matthew 6: 19) - did he trust in his riches or did he trust in God? (cf. 1 Timothy 6:17)

I cannot answer for him, nor can I answer for anyone else, but I do have to answer for myself and I will have to give an account someday (cf. Luke 12:20), because I too am going to die.  The timely question I must ask myself, “am I storing up treasures in heaven?”  - am I “trusting in the uncertainty of riches, or on God?”  God help us all to be investing more of our time, talent and money in the Kingdom of God - that which will last forever! 

inHISservice,

Pastor Rodney