ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
June 20, 2021
Scripture: Luke 12:16-19
Then Jesu told them a parable: “A certain rich man’s land produced a bountiful crop. He said to himself, What will I do? I have no place to store my harvest! Then he thought, Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. That’s where I’ll store all my grain and goods. I’ll say to myself, You have stored up plenty of goods, enough for several years. Take it easy! Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.
Thought for the Day: I have pointed this out numerous time, but I’ll do it one more time. There is no other place in scripture with more first-person pronouns – I, my and myself. That alone should grab our attention, and in an almost absurd way, help make the point of the parable. Jesus isn’t opposed to success or having a bountiful crop, but what do we do with the abundance? Do we continue to think about ourselves alone, or do we acknowledge that everything we have ultimately belongs to God? And if it belongs to God, then it has a purpose for the greater good. Where is your abundance? It might not be in your checking account or in some sought-after skill, but that does not necessarily mean insufficiency. I have met many folks with an abundance of compassion, forgiveness and love. They have not looked at their abundance and chosen to build larger storage units to stockpile what they have. Instead, they’ve looked to the lives of others where the abundance could make a difference. What might the world look like if we all did a better job of sharing out of our abundance?
Prayer: You have provided a world of abundance, Lord God, and we shall live in a spirit of abundance. Amen.
