“Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Luke 12:13-21
“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Luke 12:13-21
What does it mean to be “rich toward God?” Do you give all your money to church? Perhaps you sell all your clothes and go barefoot in the streets. Maybe you eat only what you find, and call nothing your own. There are certainly people who serve God this way.
What is it to be poor toward God? Do you own mansions and exploit people? Maybe you refuse to give away anything, and buy everything to heal or conceal a private pain. Perhaps poverty to God is when you pour your heart and soul into getting the biggest house with the best yard and the nicest swimming pool that nobody but nobody is getting into.
I think the line is finer than these extremes. We can be rich towards God with all we have, and we can be poor towards God while having nothing. God tells us His word that “man looks at outward appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart.” We can never look at a rich man and know that he has been poor towards God, or a poor man and know He has been rich to God. What we do know is that with God in our hearts, we are filled with His joy. It doesn't come through stuff. It's the joy of being with people you love. It's in the first breath of spring, and the taste of frost in winter. It is in His presence, and in being His child. It is in the act of forgiveness that brought you to Him, and continues to hold you safe.
What is it to be poor toward God? Do you own mansions and exploit people? Maybe you refuse to give away anything, and buy everything to heal or conceal a private pain. Perhaps poverty to God is when you pour your heart and soul into getting the biggest house with the best yard and the nicest swimming pool that nobody but nobody is getting into.
I think the line is finer than these extremes. We can be rich towards God with all we have, and we can be poor towards God while having nothing. God tells us His word that “man looks at outward appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart.” We can never look at a rich man and know that he has been poor towards God, or a poor man and know He has been rich to God. What we do know is that with God in our hearts, we are filled with His joy. It doesn't come through stuff. It's the joy of being with people you love. It's in the first breath of spring, and the taste of frost in winter. It is in His presence, and in being His child. It is in the act of forgiveness that brought you to Him, and continues to hold you safe.
Challenge:
Are there things you have been poor towards God in? Whether it is in time, money, trust or anything else, take time to ask Him to show you true richness there, and act on it.
Are there things you have been poor towards God in? Whether it is in time, money, trust or anything else, take time to ask Him to show you true richness there, and act on it.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comment! Our discussion is incomplete without your voice. Shout your support, be verbose or dissent from popular opinion. Whatever you do just please be polite. Stay on topic. Also don't feed the trolls. Now write a comment you eloquent thinker you!