Luke 12:16-21 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?
Jesus had been speaking to a vast crowd and His own disciples when
He told this parable. He had been teaching hypocrisy in general and having a
heart not surrendered to God. The thesis
of this parable is the condition of one's heart and not wealth overall. The
point Jesus was trying to make was what a person does with his money is an
outward expression of the condition of one's heart. Those that claim to be
believers and followers of Christ Jesus are to put their faith and trust in Him
and Him alone. As saved, born-again believers, we should put the needs of
others ahead of our own needs and desires. God blesses us for us to bless
others and put the needs of others ahead of our own. We should never forget
that the source of all of our blessing comes from God and not ourselves. Any
security and strength that we think we might have all come to us through our
Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, and in Him and Him alone should we place our
faith and trust.
We should always keep in the forefront of our minds that God gives
us time, talent, and resources to help those in need and further spread the
Gospel of Christ Jesus to the ends of the earth. In this parable, we can see
that the rich fool, as a member of God's chosen people Israel, had forgotten
what God had called him to do as a child of God. God called the nation of
Israel to share Israel's true and living God with the surrounding nations. They
were God's chosen people, chosen to do just that, spread to the entire world
the Promise of the coming Messiah.
God blessed this rich fool, who gave him everything he had, and
then he used that only for himself. The mistake that this rich fool made was he
forgot God. The Rich fool had become infatuated and entranced with his riches
and turned his heart toward his possessions. He took security not in the Lord,
who had provided everything for him, but in his wealth. In his heart, this rich
fool had replaced God with his earthly riches.
Instead of focusing on building up treasures in heaven, he was
consumed to store up treasures on earth. He had built the foundation of his
life not on God and His saving grace but on his possessions and abilities. For
this rich fool, his wealth became his idol and obsession, thereby replacing God
in his life. As Christians, we need to ask ourselves daily, where is our wealth
stored? If we say here on earth, then the next question is, what has replaced
God in our lives and hearts?
As children of God, we are to put our faith and trust in Him,
putting God's will first in our lives and putting the needs of others ahead of
our wants and desires. The reason God blesses us is so that we can share it
with others, with our families, our church, and those in need. We should never
forget that the source of all our blessings is God and not ourselves. We, as
followers and believers of Christ Jesus, should use our gifts, our time, our
talents, and our resources to further the Gospel of Jesus and to help those in
need,
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