THE ENDThemes: True Riches are in Christ, Eternal Security Thomas A. Edison is one of the most famous and respected inventors in American history. His invented many things and revolutionized American living. He actually had the world's first ""invention factory"", a building he had built to house fifteen people and all his instruments, in Menlo Park, N.J. His idea was to ""produce"" inventions. His brilliance and his business sense made him a great success. Yet the road to success was not always smooth. By the age of 43, Edison was wealthy and looking for new frontiers to conquer. He turned his interest to iron mining and purchased 19,000 acres of land in New Jersey that was supposed to contain 2 billion tons of iron ore. He then built a village, quarry and a seven story ore separator. He expected to make millions of dollars. But then problems arose. The equipment broke down. The depression of 1893 came. Finally iron was discovered and Minnesota, causing the price of iron to fall. Edison and his friends lost $2 million dollars. The wealthy Mr. Edison was almost bankrupt. He hardly had anything. People laughed at him and referred to his work as ""Edison's folly"". What they forgot was that while Edison may have lost money, he had not lost his intelligence. He turned once again to inventing. In a short time, he had his fortune back again and actually had more at the end than at the beginning. The hero of our Bible story, Job, also had more at the end than the beginning. But it was not because he was smart or had a good business mind. It was because God blessed him and honored him for his faithfulness. Every life has a beginning and an ending. While you are young, it is hard to think ahead about the end of life. Your life has just begun. But a wise man such as solomon reminds us that there is ""a time to be born and a time to die"" Eccl.3:2. A wise woman also said, ""We must needs die"" 2Sam.14:14. Thomas Edison was able to go from bankruptcy to amass great riches before he died. We are not told whether he was saved or not. That is what really matters. You cannot completely control whether you will be rich or poor. You cannot determine whether you will die famous or unknown. But it is your choice whether you will die saved or lost. ""Christ jesus came into the world to save sinners."" 1 Tim.1:15.
No one has commented on this article.
Related Items:
|
Sketches of Jewish Social Life
