Bulletin Note 5.1.16

Bulletin May 1, 2016
Charles Dickens’ novel, Bleak House, revolves around a fictional case in the Court of Chancery, the case of Jarndice Vs. Jarndice, which had been going on for 53 years, and appeared no closer to resolution than when it began. I found this possibility untenable until I did a little research into the English Court of Chancery. Indeed, in its most egregious days, before it was reformed and later abolished, there were a number of cases which had exceeded 20 years’ duration!
This court was to decide equity in inheritance cases among other things. The Jarndice lawsuit involved a vast fortune being contested, which was now into the third generation, while the court continued all along to siphon off great portions of this fortune with all the endless “court costs” (Sounds a lot like our legal system doesn’t it?).
One of the sons of the original plaintiffs in the case, John Jarndice, had long before resolved to cease from following the case and from hoping for a resolution and sudden riches. He had done this because he had observed that all those who had a part in the claims related to Jarndice Vs. Jarndice had eventually slipped into a state of greed, suspicions, and vain and shattered hopes. His warnings regarding this to Richard, a carefree nephew of his, are unheeded, and thus the lawsuit and the Court of Chancery, go to work in claiming the young man as another victim to the vain hope of gain.
Proverbs 23:5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. We ought rather to set our eyes on the One who is the owner of all the wealth of the world, since, to be His child means we already have a vast inheritance!
a.m. message: The Lord Continuing His Work Phil.1:1-10