Friday, October 4, 2019

Alma 22:15 -- On The Worth of Kingdoms

"And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy."
Alma 22:15


I love the king here, who is Lamoni's father and who recently tried to kill Ammon and kill his own son.  He wants to talk to the missionaries because Ammon spared his life in that confrontation, and asked for nothing, even though he offered him half his kingdom to spare his life (Alma 20:23).

Interestingly, here, there is something worth more than his life, and he offers to give up his whole kingdom to know the Lord, to have his wickedness taken away, and to be saved.

And you know, I think this is where we all are ... there are so many things in this life that we invest time and money and work into, but when it comes down to it, we would be happy to trade half of whatever we possess for a little bit more life, and what God offers--eternal life, salvation, happiness--is worth all of it, and incalculably more.

Today, let's look at all God offers us with the eyes of Lamoni's father, and realize how much we need God, and how completely worth the price salvation is.  I'm not saying it is always easy to give up our will and our pride and whatever else our kingdom entails, but whatever God asks of us is literally nothing in comparison with the worth of his gift of salvation and eternal life, and really all that he asks is that we improve and prepare ourselves for that eternal future he is offering. :)  Let's be willing to give up our kingdoms in pursuit of that greatest of joys. :)

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