DEVOTION: Place of Gold ~ by Shirley Corder

The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. (Revelation 21:17-18 NIV)

I once heard a humorous story about a man who heard he was about to die. An angel told him that he would be coming to fetch him the following night.

The man was well off, and felt terror at having to leave behind everything he owned. So he asked the angel if he could take at least some gold with him. The angel gave him permission to bring along one suitcase of gold. The next day the man sold everything he owned and converted the money into gold bricks. He stashed these in a suitcase beside his bed.

When the angel arrived during the night, the man grabbed his suitcase and flew away with it. When he arrived at the pearly gates of Heaven, the angel on guard at the gate checked his list. 

“Yes, your name is here,” he said. “But you can’t bring in the suitcase. No earthly possessions are allowed in Heaven”. 

The man was initially frantic. “You don’t understand,” he said. “The angel said I could bring in one suitcase.” The puzzled angel asked to see what was in the suitcase.

The man opened the case. After a momentary pause, the angel looked at him in confusion. 

“Pavement? Why would you bring pavement into Heaven?”

It’s a silly little story, but there’s a lot of truth in it.

In 1886, gold was discovered in an area close to a mining camp in South Africa, which would become the largest city in the country, Johannesburg. The city’s Zulu name is eGoli, or Place of Gold. 40 percent of the world’s known gold reserves are found near this city. This discovery set off a massive “Gold Rush” of people from all over the globe, and within ten years, it was the richest gold mining area in the world.

Fortunes were made, relationships destroyed, and lives were lost as men gave up everything in their lust for the yellow metal.

Gold has always been regarded as a valuable commodity. Solomon speaks of it in Proverbs 8:10
Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold. (NIV)

How about today? Do we scurry after wealth, look for better-paying jobs, aim at reaching top positions at work, all so that we can get rich?

One day, if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord, we will be part of a Place of Gold far greater than Johannesburg or any other city made famous by gold. Revelations 21:18 tells us the wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold. And again in verse 21, The great street of the city was of gold.

That is one Gold Rush I plan to be a part of! When the angel comes to call me, I’m not taking any suitcase. God has promised to provide everything I need. I’m not taking my own pavement! Can you imagine walking on streets of pure gold? How exciting. Can you be certain that you will be there too?

SHIRLEY CORDER lives on the coast in South Africa with her husband, Rob. Her book, Strength Renewed: Meditations for your Journey through Breast Cancer contains 90 meditations based on her time in the cancer valley.

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Please visit Shirley through ShirleyCorder.com, where she encourages writers, or at  RiseAndSoar.com, where she encourages those in the cancer valley. You can also meet with her on Twitter or FaceBook.