Good Morning Friends,
At some point we figure out that the treasured events of our lives are not as random as we might believe. It is then, only as the events in our lives connect as a rich prayer with God, do we discover the real pattern, the real purpose. Hopefully the light comes on, so our time here does not feel wasted. The challenge of church and community here is learning to share in the answering of prayers that honor God and thereby helps us better understand the rewards of being a Christian. So, How Do You Measure Your Wealth?
Scripture: 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 (NRSV)
You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
Ephesians 2:1-10 (NRSV)
Message: Today’s question may seem a little odd for those who overvalue money. But it does bring into focus our emotions on greater awareness of worldly privileges we have and the greater privilege of being a Christian. You see, as we consider the things we own and have lost, our hearts are either moving to God as our treasure or toward the things of this world. Solomon discovered just how foolish all our labor is for things. How we are using our earthly riches in response to our desires shows how we value God. Scripture tells us that money can be helpful in forwarding God’s Kingdom and the church in response to its member’s needs, but also hazardous when it lures us away from God. The movement of our money reflects the movement of our heart and in the Church, should demonstrate how sharing money, according to need, so that none would suffer, brings us closer to God’s will. Here the nature of the church is designed to prompt our faithfulness in giving to a common good. And here the use of money, in the wisest ways, is a good thing but not necessarily and easy thing. We should listen to the deeper message about mercy here. The problem with this is that, often, we will discover we cannot make it on our own. We need the Creator’s mercy to even exist, but it does not stop there. We need to extend mercy. And we need the mercy of others too. Mercy is needed to save us more times than we realize. The amazing thing is that mercy can even lead us in doing good works for others that will encourage them in the faith. You see mercy is associated with grace, and grace is the best ministry gift we as Christians can give because it is the best gift we have ever received. But if we have received true grace then we will come alive in Christ, and we cannot help but be gracious in loving others as we have been loved. If we fail here, we probably never really accepted the transformation of grace in the first place. Accepting and sharing is the labor of our lives, but not something for which we can take credit. This good work of doing good things is a result of our salvation not the cause of it. Still, we need to share the overabundance that Christ has made available to us in our life. We cannot use it all. To horde it away is insane. The world hungers for it. So, know that we all are helpless when it comes to our salvation regardless of the size of our bank accounts, but in many ways, it is harder for those with excessive financial wealth. For ultimately, we will learn that the trouble with greed is that our goods go and worse, we go.
And So, we are fools if we assume that all we want will meet our deepest needs. We are fools if we forget to appreciate each moment for the gift it is, forgetting that the God who created and saved us is waiting for us in each and every one of them. Friends, we are crazy if we do not seek the divine in the moment. For in them we have the opportunity for Jesus to get to know us and we to get to know Jesus through the Spirit. Some say that there are two great moments in a person’s life: the moment we were born and the moment we realize why. But the beauty in Christ is that we can be born again each moment and through the Spirit realize why it is important to glorify God. Therefore, take note and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of things but in the abundance of memories of the moments with God and others to the glory of Jesus in the Spirit of love. It is better to store up treasure in heaven by bringing a little of it each day to earth, investing in spiritual riches, and become rich toward God realizing that the reward is not all in the life to come but in the life here and now as well. The supreme value is to be rich in God. To have a heart to worship God and to benefit from the richness of a relationship with the King of kings.
Pray we be wary of greed. Pray do not value things more than God at the risk of losing our very souls. Pray we realize that material possessions do not bring security to life. Pray we seek the Kingdom of God. that Christ’s saving grace comes alive in our lives. Pray we realize that hording joy, money and things is pointless and unproductive. Pray we reorganize our thinking and start looking for and anticipating God in our lives. Pray we begin to see history through the eyes of mercy not money. Pray we place our trust wisely. Pray we realize that we cannot live without God’s help. Pray we realize that God forgives even when we can do nothing but watch Him meet our real needs. Pray we receive God’s grace and eagerly share it with others in all we do. Pray we are prepared to give up something good for something very good. Pray that we seek the Kingdom first, that grace is not so hard to believe, so hard to accept, so hard to receive and so hard to share. Pray that we are not envious about the grace given to others. Pray that we learn to share the overabundance of mercy that Christ has made available to us in our life. Pray we are rich in good works. Pray we are not deceived by money. Pray that our ambitions not become addictions. Pray that our careers not become compulsions. Pray that objects not become the objectives. Pray we share with others in a way that glorifies God. Pray we fulfill our commitments to each other by showing the world what it means to have God as our riches. Pray we are rich in what matters to God. Pray we discover our inheritance as children of God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 