The Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12: 13-21)
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
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. 1And 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?’
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
The fragility of life
This parable highlights to me the fragility of life. It describes a rich man who lived entirely for himself and the pleasures of this world, giving no thought to eternity. One night God challenged him as to how he was living and said that his soul would be required of him that very night. The man passed from life to death and an eternity without God. He had stored up riches and many possessions but had nothing for eternity.
We have a tendency to think we are invincible, yet none of us know how long we have on this earth.
Our life can be taken when we least expect it, as we are currently seeing with the alarming spread of the Coronavirus which has no respect for age, position or status.
Invest our lives in God’s Kingdom
We also have a tendency not to see beyond this present life but to spend time pleasing ourselves and accumulating things which will only satisfy us for now. How easy it is to look back over the passage of time and wonder where it has gone, and what we have done in our busy lives that is of lasting value.
Live as though Jesus were coming back tomorrow
My prayer is God will give us a different perspective- an eternal perspective- so I see into the spiritual realm. What we invest in the kingdom of God now will bring us heavenly reward later. Let us live each day as though Jesus were coming back tomorrow.
How can we do this?
I have asked this question many times but I believe the answer is to make our relationship with Jesus our top priority in life. If you are not yet a follower of Jesus Christ and would like to be, then you can pray this simple prayer:
Receive Jesus into your life
Dear God,
I admit that I am a sinner, living independently of you, and I need your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ died in my place paying the penalty for my wrongdoing. I choose right now to turn from my sin and accept Jesus as my personal saviour and Lord. I commit my life to you and ask you to send the Holy Spirit into my life, to fill me and to help me become the person you want me to be. Thank you, Father God, for loving me.
In Jesus’ name
Amen
Grow in your relationship with Him
Next, by spending time in prayer and reading His word, the Bible, you will develop your relationship with Jesus. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you truth from what you have read. Every day, ask Him to fill you with His love and peace. As your relationship grows you will find that He puts thoughts and ideas into your heart and mind, maybe a clear understanding of something that wasn’t clear before, or ways you could share His love with others. As you learn to do this in small ways you will grow more confident. Finding a church where you can meet and worship with others who will help and encourage you in your faith is a good and valuable step to take and will help you grow in your faith.
May God bless you as you grow in your relationship with Him.