The Treasures of the Church

http://www.christianitytoday.com/outreach/articles/treasuresofthechurch.html

[Christianity Today] 13 May 2008--The relationship between the early church and the Roman government was a turbulent one. Persecution and peace surfaced sporadically at the whim of the emperor. The Roman officials, ignorant of the true practices of Christianity, often acted out of fear, superstition, and misinformation. The royal court assumed that the Christian church operated just like their greedy religions.

There is a story told of the emperor who coveted the riches he believed the church possessed and ordered their head bishop to produce "the treasures of the church." The bishop tried to tell the emperor that the church had no gold, silver, jewels, or other valuables, but still he ordered that "the treasures of the church" be brought before him the next morning.

Early the next day the bishop appeared before the emperor empty-handed. Outraged, the emperor demanded an answer about why "the treasures of the church" were not being given to him.

The bishop invited the emperor to look out at the palace steps. Gathered together, cautiously gazing up at the great doors of the royal palace, was a mass of ragged beggars, cripples, slaves and outcasts.

"These," said the bishop, with a broad gesture of his arm, "are the treasures of the church."
For his unappreciated but very accurate insight, the bishop was promptly martyred.