The small ingot of gold held in my hand was worth $350,000. Gold bars were stacked from the floor to the ceiling. I was looking at a vast fortune in pure gleaming gold!
In another room I saw an electric furnace which was melting millions of dollars worth of gold to be poured into moulds. After passing through a detecting machine, I walked out of the heavily guarded building with the friend who had made possible my unique tour of the Canadian Mint in Ottawa, Canada.
A Steal of a Deal
The United States has made a few astounding purchases with its money. In 1803, President Jefferson purchased 885,000 square miles of what is now known as Louisiana from France for a mere 15 million dollars. In March of 1857, the USA made an even better deal with Russia when it purchased Alaska for only 7.2 million dollars! So large was Alaska that it increased the land area of the entire nation by one-fifth!
What Money Cannot Buy
Money can buy a bed, but not sleep; books, but not brains; food, but not an appetite; finery, but not beauty; a house, but not a home; medicine, but not health; luxuries, but not culture; amusements, but not happiness; a crucifix, but not a Saviour; a church pew, but not Heaven.
You can never pay for your salvation by being religious, honest, or zealous of what is right. Eternal life is a gift, and cannot be purchased by human effort or wealth. God speaks about salvation (eternal life) in these terms. “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Possessors of God’s salvation are reminded: “Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold… but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18, 19).
The Lord Jesus Christ bore God’s punishment for sin by shedding His blood on the cross. When full payment was made He cried, “It is finished” (John 19:30). It is only when we believe that the Lord Jesus took the punishment for our sin and receive Him as our Saviour that we become sons of God and possessors of God’s eternal salvation. There is nothing left for you to do but to trust Him. The Word of God assures us that “As many as received Him (the Lord Jesus Christ), to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12). Will you do it today?
Robert Surgenor
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