Focus
Prepare yourself to discern what is and what is not of God today. Still yourself so you can hear how God is calling you.
Read
Luke 12:13-21 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
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.”
Reflect
People who save and store up and plan ahead? We don’t call them FOOLS; we call them prudent…frugal…good stewards…responsible…wise.
But in this story—the only parable where God speaks directly within the story—God calls this man a FOOL, not a good steward…and if God is calling you a FOOL, that really ought to be a wake up call.
Foolishness, in the Biblical wisdom tradition, is not just doing something stupid or rash or poorly-thought-out. It’s not just those “hey-man-watch-this” moments that social media loves to make fun of. Foolishness is making choices apart from God: setting agendas and goals without regard for what God is up to or what God wants from us. A fool confuses temporary things for permanent ones; judges by appearances instead of by character; chooses what is easy (or quick, or comfortable) instead of what is right.
In a culture that is quick to see foolishness in the wisdom of God, this story invites us to set aside foolishness (no matter how good it might seem to us) and have a radically different relationship with God AND with our time, our stuff, our wallets, our bank accounts.
Pray
Lord,
The truth is this: I like big barns—the bigger, the better!
They make me feel safe, accomplished, responsible, successful, independent.
Forgive me for letting dreams of “bigger barns” distract me from You.
Help me to remember
that what is essential and eternal
is not an abundance of accomplishments or
a warehouse full of stuff—
but a life shaped by Your amazing grace and Your unchanging love.
Amen
Go with God!
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