Wednesday, September 6, 2023
“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?” (Luke 12:20 KJV).
He was “one of the world’s richest,” but now he is among its poorest!
In John chapter 6, the Lord Jesus Christ performed a miracle, feeding over 5,000 men with just five barley loaves and two small fishes (verses 1-14). However, there was spiritual confusion, as verse 15 reports: “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.” They actually chase Him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee so He can fill their stomachs with another free meal!
He rebuked them for their worldly-mindedness: “Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed” (verses 26,27). The Lord was more than a food-delivery Man, but they had reduced Him to such! Overall, they ignored how He had come to deliver them from their sins!
In the context of today’s Scripture, another distraction arises. A man beseeches the Lord Jesus to settle an estate. The man’s father is deceased, but his brother is being greedy with their inheritance, so the man (also materialistic!) wishes Jesus would intervene. In fact, the rabbis (Jewish teachers) could handle the matter, so it was unnecessary to involve the Lord. (His time was more precious than to waste it squabbling over earthly riches!) “[13] And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. [14] And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? [15] 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.”
When death claims all souls, even the largest earthly fortune passes to no one….
333 Words of Grace 