The Rich and the Famous

          Our culture seems to be attracted to the rich and the famous. I recall my parents taking the car out and driving to Michigan City where we would drive through the wealthy part of town and look at their lavish houses. There was one house that the most lavish of all for that city which had an unusual background. The owner, during World War II, would often be seen driving around town in a wagon pulled by a horse. He was known as the town “Junk man.” If you had a piece of something to get rid of, just put it by the curb and he would take it. It must have paid off for him as he was known in his later years as a “millionaire.” First Corinthians 1:27 says, “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;” 

              The rich and the famous are not always the lucky ones in the world. They are not the ones that get chosen for the big things in life. They just have a lot of money and like to talk a lot about subjects they know very little about. The Bible is filled with accounts that show how God used that which was insignificant or the person who was perhaps the lowest on the success ladder. A pastor yesterday made mention of the birth announcement of the Lord Jesus Christ and who it was that first became aware of the birth of the Son of God as He took on flesh and lived among us. It wasn't the right and the famous that got the special announcement, but the shepherds that were keeping their sheep. There was only a handful of people that really knew what had happened. Mary and Joseph knew, Elizabeth and Zacharias knew. Simeon knew. A few shepherds knew. For the most part, the rest of the world didn't know about the most important event that had taken place. Kings, Princes, Premiers, Religious leaders nor those that were rich didn't know what had happened the night of the Nativity. Does it not surprise you than that salvation is offered to you? The events of the Nativity should have been a clue of things to come. The most important gift was going to be offered to those who were the least likely in the world. I am almost astonished by the list of the first converts in the church in Philippi. They consisted of a businesswoman, a former demon possessed girl and a jailer. There was not a religious leader among them at the time. It didn't sound like those on the roll of a church today. If you are reading this, you are probably one of the wealthy as you need to have a computer and internet access to do so. Yet, God has made salvation available to you by sending His Son to die on the cross for your sins and for my sins. We can always praise God for His plan for the salvation of mankind.