****JESUS IS ALL THE WORLD TO ME

Money is not inherently bad, and God certainly blesses some with wealth. But the Proverb warns us that the LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

And Mark tells us, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”  (Mark 10:25)

One day while Jesus was speaking to a crowd, He warned them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

Then He told the story: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.  And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’  So, he said, ‘I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ 

But God said to him, ‘You fool!  This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ (Luke 12:13-21)

That was a parable, but a similar situation occurred in real life.

“As (Jesus) was (walking), (a man) came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?’

Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honour your father and your mother.’

He answered and said, ‘Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.’

Then Jesus, said to him, “One thing you lack: Go (and) sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

But (the man) was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” (Mk. 10:17-22).

William Thompson was also a man of great success and wealth.  He was born in 1847 and he first began writing music at the age of 16.  When a publisher offered to purchase some of his songs for about $6.00 each, he rejected the offer and started his own music company.  He sold millions of copies of his popular secular songs.  He became so wealthy that people referred to him as the “Millionaire Songwriter.”

But one day he met the evangelist, D. L. Moody, whom God used to turn his heart and change his life.  Dr. Moody challenged him and said; “William, your songs are good, but why not write some songs that will bless people’s hearts and lives and bring them to Christ?”

That’s when William realized that his business and success overshadowed his devotion to his God.  That’s the day he committed his work to his Savior and he began to write hymns to the glory of God.  And, about that day, William said, “From that day on I have written ONLY SACRED SONGS, and it’s a decision I have never regretted.”  

Some of his acquaintances believed that William Thompson wrote this song, JESUS IS ALL THE WORLD TO ME, as a personal testimony to his love for his Savior.