Unclaimed Property

 

I saw an online news article last week about the unclaimed property office in the state treasurer's office in West Virginia, where our family used to live.  It said that there were millions of dollars in abandoned bank accounts, in insurance proceeds, etc. that the office was trying to return to the rightful owners.

So, hoping that there was something there for our family, I went to their database and entered the names of all of my immediate family members.  It turns out that my husband's name was listed as having some unclaimed property.  I called to make sure it really was his and that it didn't belong to someone with the same name. They matched his name with a former address and sent us the forms to claim the property.

Foolishly, I forgot to ask how much was coming to him so it could be $4, or $40, or $400.  Time will tell, but it made me wonder what unclaimed property the body of Christ has stored up in the heavenlies, waiting for us to realize what belongs to us.

I'm not just talking about the material wealth that God gives us to steward and use to build His kingdom.  The riches of God go far beyond money.  

To claim those things, there are steps that must be followed. 

First, you have to be a citizen of the place where the property is stored.  If you are born again, you are a citizen of heaven, even if you aren't living there.

Next, you have to realize that there is a record of what belongs to you.  In our case, it was a database, but your heavenly property is documented in the Word of God.

Then, you must make sure that the listed property is yours by establishing your identity. You must talk to the person in charge of determining that those things belong to you.  In prayer and the Word, you can learn who you are in Christ - your true identity.

The next step is filing a claim.  For us it was filling out a form and again, proving identity by sending a copy of a driver's license and a social security card.  For the Christian, it's claiming the promises of God by reminding Him of His Word and accepting by faith what He has declared is yours.

The last event is receiving what has always been yours - when faith becomes sight.  That's when you enjoy the blessing that God has given you and when you use it to bless others, whether it's a monetary or a spiritual blessing.

While I was on the website, I found the name of another family member who has some kind of property available to them. I took the time to make a phone call so they can claim what is theirs.  In the Kingdom of God, our job is to tell our brothers and sisters where to find what belongs to them and how to obtain it.  

The Bible says, "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us."  2 Corinthians 1:20

1 Peter 1: 2-4 gives us more detail about these promises. "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

The promises wer given to us to provide everything we need for our physical and spiritual well-being so that we could be partakers of the very nature of God.  Riches like that are worth identifying, claiming, and sharing.