Storyteller - Day 5

Thank you for joining me here, on Day 5 of our journey through "Storyteller", a 4 week online, on-demand Bible study from Sarah Koontz at livingbydesign.org.

Today's Scripture reading is found in Luke 12: 13 - 21 ...

Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.” Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” Then He said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” Then He told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

One of the questions people often ask when they read this parable is: "Doesn't God like rich people? Are all Believers supposed to be poor?"

But that's not the message of this parable at all. As Sarah Koontz explains, "the rich fool is not condemned for his prosperity but for his failure to acknowledge God."

In telling this story, Jesus is once again ignoring the surface question, and delving straight to the heart issue the question stems from.

In our modern culture, most people would admire someone like the man God labels "a fool". He carefully watched his money and did what most of us would do—wisely planned how that money could get him more money and make his life more comfortable. Many people would envy him, with his beautiful house and his "Top Billing" lifestyle, but Jesus pitied him.

You see, the rich man of the parable was well-prepared for this life but totally unprepared for the life to come. The fact that his financial future was secure didn't mean that his eternal future was secure.

"Life is fragile, and finances are fickle." Sarah Koontz.

This parable serves as a stern reminder that our possessions are never meant to dominate or define us, and that "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand." (Proverbs 19: 21)

The secret to an abundant life is not gaining more things, but gaining the knowledge of God which will lead us to repentance and salvation.

Please share your thoughts and comments on this study of the parablesofJesus - I'd love to hear from you.