Unclaimed Resources

"Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Peter 1:4)

Not many months ago, I ran across a list of unclaimed funds in our local newspaper. Being motivated by nothing but a desire for wealth, I began reading through the names that were listed of people to whom money was due. After failing to find my name(very disappointing), I searched for my wife's, and then my children's names. I was delighted to find a son's name on the list. Of course, I promptly called him and told him who to contact and how. The money that he received was fairly substantial. Just this week, my daughter's name showed up on a similar list, and I contacted her as well.

It struck me how much God's promises are like these unclaimed funds. The folks who are on these lists are unaware that there is money owed to them. Usually, this is because their benefactor (which is normally a company or lender to whom they have paid money) is unable to contact them with the good news. There are so many, also, whom God cannot reach with His good news. They have turned a deaf ear to the gospel message and, even if they do hear the message, they don't believe it. Sadly, we Christians do not know about the promises that God has made to His children because we do not study His Word in order to discover them. As we seek God through His Word, we gain knowledge of Him, and of His nature; and it is this knowledge, coupled with faith, that is key to our growth as Christians. "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord." (2 Peter 1:2) "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue." (2 Peter 1:3) "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge." (2 Peter 1:5)

Once an individual is aware that there is money waiting for them to claim, they still must contact the one who is holding the funds in order to receive it. They may also foolishly choose to ignore, or simply not believe, that there is money available to them and miss out for that reason. Some may even lose out because they just don't want to mess with it and fill out the forms. All too often, once we have heard, we do not claim God's promises because we tell ourselves that they are not for us. It is much easier to believe for everyone else than to believe that God loves me, and has promised me so many wonderful, incredible things.

We are told that many of God's promises were only meant for the early church in order to establish its presence in the beginning. We are told that what God did in the book of Acts, He no longer does. Let me tell you this, however, that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) His promises are as real and as vital as they were in the first century. It is essential that we believe and claim His promises for ourselves because it is by these very promises that we are made partakers of God's very nature. "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature." (2 Peter 1:4a) Also, it is these promises that enable us to escape the corruption that is in this world as a result of our own lusts. "having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Peter 1:4b)

I often think of the prophecy of John the Baptists' father, Zacharias, and it comforts and encourages me when I am going through battles or struggles in my life. He said, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; the oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life." (Luke 1:68-75) Be bold, you children of God, and claim all that God has promised you!

"Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:10, 11)