Archived Message
July 2006: This night thy soul shall be required of thee
There was a very interesting program on the Australian Broadcasting Company that brought into focus the words of the parable of Jesus in Luke chapter 12 verses 16-21. Luk 12:16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:. Luk 12:17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? Luk 12:18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. Luk 12:19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. Luk 12:20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? Luk 12:21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. The parable was brought into the twenty first century by comparing today's attitude towards a new luxury, seventy seven story apartment building on Queenslands Gold Coast. The building is called 'Soul' and offers a new life style for those with sufficient funds to take their ease, eat, drink and presumably be merry. At least that is the goal of this modern attempt to bring a touch of spiritual dimension to the modern man. The gentleman who was selling these apartments (starting at a mere one point eight million Australian dollars) was keen to promote the spiritual advantage of being able to lie in your spa and relax, while taking stock of your life and being spiritually regenerated in the process. The similarities of being plagued with the problem of what do you do when you have more than you need, seems to be the same over the centuries. It is very human to lay up stores whether it is in a barn,a bank or a building. The theme of the ABC program is 'present day consumerism'. In the society of today, here in Australia, there are many people with enough money to do whatever they like. But the question is, can you ever have sufficient money or goods to guarantee your future happiness and security? Jesus was telling us back then what still holds true for today. You cannot buy spiritual fulfillment with hard cash. The reality is that you cannot mix the two because they are opposite substances, like water and oil. If you lie in a spa in 'Soul' apartments you will very likely feel physically relaxed and refreshed. But if you want to feel spiritually refreshed you will have to do more than lie there and think about life. If you were being spiritual you would transcend the physical and be thinking about the higher life, life without the body that you are pampering with a spa bath. This was the warning that Jesus gave, that we must not arrange our future without thought to the Living God. Nobody knows for certain that their next step will be their last. Every week the news is full of untimely deaths and many of these have just reached a stage in life where they have provision for their future. It is very sad but true, that many of these people have treasure in this world but are not rich towards God. Why do people adopt this method of trusting in the abundance of riches? One suggestion is fear. Fear of the future is a big incentive to make sure that you have enough to provide for your needs. Providing for you future is a wise decision and I believe in the principle of wise financial planning. The Apostle Paul tells us to work for our bread and there are many places in Scripture telling us to be wise with our money. However, we should not gather into barns or banks out of fear of the future. If we are rich in God then we have no fear of the future and use our abundance for the Kingdom of God. Our abundance, after our needs are met, is for others. Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive. Just today, 27th June 2006, a very wealthy American man has given the greater part of his fortune to the Bill Gates charities. Another suggestion was greed. This old sin of avarice is at the base of many selfish schemes. Back in Jesus' time this sin was temptation to fewer people. Rich farmers, those in authority or the higher levels of society would be those under closest scrutiny concerning the gathering of financial nest eggs. Today the temptation to fall into this sin is more evenly spread, thanks to our modern society, that gives more of its citizens a larger slice of the nations wealth. (that is not to suggest there is no poverty as the gap between rich and poor is increasing.). So we must beware, lest we inadvertently fall into the trap of gathering goods at others expense. One commentator suggested lonliness. The rich man was cut off from any feelings of communal responsibility. He had no real relationships with those around him and therefore organized life around himself. In today's society this is a major problem. There are many lonely people walking around in a time of plenty and there seems to be less time for relationships. The themes and pictures we can get from this short parable are many and as varied as the people it speaks to. Our view of the future will lie in our belief system. The Bible says (1Co 15:22) "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (1Co 15:45) And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spiritx'. The sons and daughters of the first Adam cling to self preservation and gratification. The sons and daughters of the last Adam, the risen Lord, Jesus of Nazareth, look forward to the provision that God has made for them. If you are fearful of the future and think the only hope is to prepare a financial nest egg, then please let me encourage you to put your trust in God and be assured of a secure eternal future. Turn to Jesus, speak to Him, ask Him to be your Lord and your Saviour. Don't be fooled by the false security of this world's riches. Be rich towards God. God only gives good advice, Bless you, Ivan.Ivan Harrison
(Pastor of The Open Door Church, Lawnton, Queensland, Australia).
For correspondence on matters relating to this message e-mail me at pastorivan@livingconnections.com. I am very interested in hearing from you.