One Day

Luke 12:13-21

Who wouldn’t like to get more out of life?

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Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.” - Luke 12:13-21

The man in the crowd wanted Jesus to make his brother share his inheritance.

Jesus’s response is perfect. Who set me to be an arbitrator over you?

Why are you asking this of me?

Of course, Jesus has a parable ready to share with the man. Did he just come up with this story of the man with an abundance of crops?

The message is clear. We act like the future is ours to do with as we please, and yet all we have is this one day.

If the man in the story knew that today he would die, what would he do with his crops?

If he were bitter and angry, he might not harvest them. He might let them rot in the field. Jesus asks who will inherit these things, which makes me think the man has no heirs. He may be all alone.

So, why is he growing so much? Is it all for himself? Is his goal in life to grow and sell his crops so he can become richer?

There is so much here for us to think about. Why are we toiling? Who is it all for?

If it for ourselves, we probably would have more than we need right now. If it is for others, then maybe there is not enough.

One day, we will be gone. All we have done in life will come to an end. But it doesn’t have to.

We can plan to use what we make to help others.

If the story Jesus told were of a farmer who was looking for families who could use the extra grain he produced, we would think him a hero.

By telling us to store up our treasures in heaven, Jesus is saying we need to look at why we do what we do.

Motive and purpose matter.

There is a point in our lives when we shift our perspective from ourselves to others. It doesn’t happen to all of us at the same age or time. But it happens, just like Scrooge in A Christmas Carol.

We discover the purpose of our lives, and it may not be what we believed it was all along.

I went into Holy Trinity Church on Good Friday in a quiet bayside village of Kalk Bay, and I listened to the singing. It was a somber day, the day our Lord was crucified, and there was singing. It touched my soul.

People smiled at me, and a woman came up to me after the service, and we talked. Here I was in Cape Town, South Africa, connecting with a woman in an Anglican Church on Good Friday.

As I walked back to the bus, I passed a homeless shelter, across the street from stores where tourists and locals shopped for handmade clothing and expensive items.

I took a photo of the place, planning to send a donation. I have not yet done it. What am I waiting for?

Do I need to make more money before I can start sharing with those in need?

It is a matter of priority in our lives. We choose, because God gave us the ability to choose. But God waits to see what we choose.

How patient is He?

What if He isn’t going to wait much longer?

More to come...

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