Daily Devotion

 

It was not uncommon for people in Israel to take their unsettled disputes to respected Rabbis, but Jesus refused to get mixed up in anyone's disputes about money. But out of that request there came to Jesus an opportunity to lay down what His follower's attitude to material things should be. He had something to say to both - to those who had an abundant supply of material possessions and to those who didn't.

 

(1^st) to those who had an abundant supply of possessions, Jesus spoke this parable of the Rich Fool. Two things stand out this man. (a) He never saw beyond himself. There is no parable that is so full of the words, I, me, my, and mine. The rich fool was aggressively self-centered. This famous criticism was made of a self-centered person, "There is too much ego in his cosmos." When this man had more than was necessary, the one thing that never entered his mind was to give any away. His whole attitude was the very reverse of Christianity. Instead of denying himself he aggressively affirmed himself; instead of finding happiness in giving he tried to conserve it by keeping. So long as a person's attitude is that of the rich fool, his desire will always be to get more---and that is the reverse of the Christian way.  (b)He never saw beyond this world.All his plans were made based on life on earth. The person who never remembers that there is another world is destined some day for the most horrible of all horrible shocks.

 

(2^nd) Jesus also had something to say to those who had few possessions. In this entire passage, the thought which Jesus forbids is anxious thought or worry. Jesus never ordered any man to live a thriftless, reckless way. What He did tell a person was to do his best then leave the rest to God. The lilies Jesus spoke about were the scarlet anemones. Following one of the infrequent showers of summer rain, the hillsides would be scarlet with them; they bloomed one day and died. Wood was scarce in Israel, and it was the dried grasses and wildflowers that kept the fire going in the oven. "If," as Jesus said, "God looks after the birds and the flowers, how much more will he care for you?"

 

If a person clothes his soul with the garments of honor and purity and goodness, nothing on earth can injure him. If a person seeks the treasures of heaven, his heart will be fixed on heaven; but if he seeks the treasures of earth, his heart will be tied to earth-and someday he must say good-bye to them, for, as the grim Spanish proverb has it: "There are no pockets in a shroud."

Life Application:   Don't let your life be limited to earth and what it offers. Keep your focus on the realities of heaven. Earthly things wear out but everything about heaven is eternal.

 

Praise/Prayer: Dear Father, how wonderful it is to read about Your Son. You and Your Son place before us the kind of life You want Your children to live. I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit who is constantly guiding me toward Heaven and helping me leave the things of the world behind as I look at being with You. Amen!