"And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 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. 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. 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? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Today's quote relates a lesson on faith, straight from the mouth of Jesus Christ, that challenges and decries a great part of today's, so called, "Christian" philosophy.
By speaking to His disciples, applying a parable, Jesus perfectly described one of the most pronounced failures of modern "Christianity", that being it's total lack of demonstrated faith.
To those "Christians" who would "save up" for tomorrow by amassing great wealth and then stashing it in investments and savings accounts (new barns) so as to amass even more, Jesus said; "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on." Jesus very directly commanded His followers to rely on Him, by faith, to provide even the clothes we wear on our backs.
Those who keep building "new barns" within which to store more and more earthly goods demonstrate a total lack of faith in the straight forward promises made by Jesus Christ Himself. Many of those totally disobedient "Christians" also occupy the best pews in today's "churches" every time the doors swing, while loudly and hypocritically AMENing every aspect of this very lesson every time it is taught.
As Jesus made so very clear in today's lesson, there will be a time when our souls will be demanded of us. The strength of our faith will be exposed for what it truly is.
Living a pretend life of obedience to the gospel of Christ will make for a losing situation when we face the judgment seat of Christ.
We should all take the time to reassess our priorities and rededicate ourselves, by FAITH, to the pure gospel of Christ. We must all humble ourselves and not let wealth, or lack thereof, stand between us and our service to God.
We should remember who Jesus is and what He is to us. We should remember that the words He said are meant to be taken seriously and applied accordingly each and every hour of our lives.
As for me, with a choice between "rainy day" money in the bank and an eternity with God, I'm taking the promise of a secure eternity made by Jesus Himself, every time.~
No comments:
Post a Comment