Preparing For The Calm

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 up 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?’”

Luke 12 : 16-20 (NIV)

Scripture reading: Luke 12:13-21

Post by: Matt G

For so many of us, the past few months have been a time of spiritual reflection. With so much uncertainty and fear spreading throughout the world, we have found refuge in God’s word, letting him change our hearts and learning to trust him more. I believe that this is one of the silver linings of the pandemic.

Now that we are in a stage that seems like we are looking at a return to normalcy, life is starting to improve for many of us. Summer is almost here, businesses are starting to reopen, work is starting to normalize, and social distancing seems to be relaxing.

Relating to the scripture, the problem we find with our savvy, rich man is not in what he did, but what he didn’t do. Jesus does not condemn him for being financially astute or eating, drinking, and being merry. What Jesus does condemn him for is a misalignment of priorities. Our rich man was so distracted by the sensual pleasures of this world that he neglected to devote his heart to the one who blessed him with those pleasures in the first place. The parable is summed up in verse 21 which reads “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Many of us have acquired a spiritual wealth in the midst of the darkness of the past few months. Many of us have learned to live with less in the physical sense and to live with more in the spiritual sense. We’ve learned to trust God’s plans and release control, determined to be content with simplicity, or have made efforts to put others’ needs before ourselves. Let us not squander the spiritual wealth that we’ve gained during this time. A return to normalcy is in no way a bad thing, so long as our hearts are driven by the right desires.

This crossroads is an opportunity to define yourself. Are you someone who puts stock in worldly treasures, only running to God as a security blanket when times get tough? Or are you someone who has learned (or have been reminded) that there is more to life than the things this world can offer and have developed a desire to be driven by the God of the universe? Let’s resolve to not let our spiritual fervor get derailed by distractions or laziness. The richness of the freedom and security in knowing Jesus and what he has done for us far outweighs the perceived treasure of the sensual pleasures of this life.

Photo by Matthew Waring on Unsplash