Defining Wealth in A Moment

God will do whatever it takes to bring us into a right relationship with Himself. And when we come to the end of our circumstances – even ourselves – we realize that Jesus is all we have. Some of us, thankfully, find that Jesus is all we need. And by His grace, a very precious few come to the astonishingly wonderful conclusion that Jesus is all we will ever even want.
~ Makala B. Doulos

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
~ Ephesians 1:15-23

This fool of a writer once did some stuff in Jamaica, and got a much clearer picture of what it means to be truly rich.  May you be blessed.

Walking down the alley of Bull-bay, smelling the refuse, scattering the scattered chickens… But then i look into a slightly nicer doorway, and see Scripture up on the wall. It is a message of G_d’s blessing and protection hand-painted over the lunch counter of a little store.

Later, one of the fishing boat captains prays for the whole team of visitors from Food for the Poor. He prays profoundly about the blessings G_d has brought to his life and to his family’s life, and to the village’s life. This all while we stand in a pile of rotting fishing nets and have just finished talking about the downturn in the season.

Then i greeted a guy at the Jamaica National Home for boys. And i asked him how he was doing… he answered, “blessed.” This is a resident of a children’s home of one of the poorest countries on earth, and he answers, “blessed.” i said amen, He is good, isn’t he brother? And the guy answers – all the time. We stood there with no agenda, and no other purpose than the chance to worship the Object of our praise for a moment.

Then i sat with some boys at the home out underneath a tree. And we just played together using the timer function on my watch. Nothing else. i just sat there and loved those kids and enjoyed a moment in the shade. No plans, no real props… just Jesus.

Later, as we are driving across the eastern half of the country, i begin to notice something. Little pockets of light. There are churches. Many churches. And the majority of them stand out against the poverty around them. They are not cathedrals. They are just places that stand out by the absence of darkness displaced by their presence.

As we gather for dinner, i meet the cook for the boy’s home in which we are staying. He has been there for years. We reach to shake each other’s hand and i notice that most of his has been burned off.  Nevertheless, we simply shake hands warmly and smile at each other and become friendly in a moment. No pity, no competition, just fellowship of the brethren.

What is going on here? This writer had just spent the day having images of poverty and social decay pouring into his head.  i saw mile upon mile of broken down neighborhoods and half-built houses.  i smelled the refuse in the alleys of Bull-bay fishing village.  i saw the looks of hopelessness and listlessness in some.