Welcome to "Friday Evening"—a great way to end a week! Read and celebrate. It's Friday, and Sunday's coming!

 

Washed in the Blood

Tom Barnard

 

“To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,

and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father,

to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

(Revelation 1:5 NKJV)

 

At the time of his death in 1913, John Pierpont (J. P.) Morgan was not the richest man in the world, but his estate was valued at $80-million (close to $1.2-billion today). Compared to the wealth of some of his peers, however, his estate was not large. It was reported that John Rockefeller once said of Morgan, “And to think that he wasn’t even a rich man.” However, as one of the most influential bankers of his day, his power lay in the billions he controlled and administered.

 

Morgan died in 1913. When his will was executed, it was revealed that each of his children inherited $3,000,000, and all of his employees received checks equal to one year’s salary. The will consisted of about 10,000 words. I pulled up a copy of the will through the Internet. The opening paragraph began with these words:

 

“I, John Pierpont Morgan, of the City, County, and State of New York, do hereby make, publish and declare this my Last Will and Testament in the manner and form following, that is to say….”

 

At that point the wording became very interesting. Article I of the document began with this statement:

 

“I commit my soul into the hands of my Saviour, full of confidence that having redeemed me and washed me with His precious blood, He will present me faultless before the Throne of my Heavenly Father. I entreat my children to maintain and defend at all hazards and at all costs personally, the blessed doctrine of the complete atonement of sin through the blood of Jesus Christ once offered and through that alone.”

 

J.P. Morgan left no doubt as to what he considered to be the most important part of his legacy. His trust was in the saving power of the blood of Christ, not in his earthly possessions. St. Paul would have been proud. An attorney once said to me, “Tom, your Will is not a theological statement; it is a legal document.” He may have been right, but I applaud the thinking of a man who knew that far above the value of his estate lay the value of his eternal soul. And he wanted his children and employees to know that. May each of us learn to treasure the Atonement, and conduct our lives accordingly.

 

Eternal God and Heavenly Father, keep my heart focused on heaven, and give me a clearer understanding of the meaning of Christ’s death on Calvary’s Cross. Help me to put first things first and last things last. Whatever I eventually transfer through my estate to my children and their children, let my legacy to them be spiritual, not just monetary. I want them to know that the legacy part is eternal; the money temporary. Amen.