Thought for Today
Genesis 12:5 Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother's son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan,
Ecclesiastes 2:7 I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house; I also had great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem.
Luke 12:15 And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."
Luke 12:20 But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'
Greta and I are part of a group that meets every Wednesday. The group started at a church which has now closed, first as a group of men who met to work on wood carvings. Later, some of the wives began to meet at the same time to work on various crafts. When the church was closed, some of us continued to meet, hosted by one of the couples in our group. The women meet in one room of their home, the men in another. Wood carving and craft work have taken a back seat to fellowship and conversation. Yesterday, the men talked a bit about possessions.
None of us would qualify to play the role of that rich man in the parable Jesus told in Luke 15. All of us have been married long enough, however, to have accumulated possessions. Inevitably, for those of us ‘of an age,’ God’s question becomes pertinent, “the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” As we talked yesterday, we all agreed that our children will almost assuredly have an ‘issue’ in disposal of our possessions at our demise. Our children are already adults; they all have established lives of their own. In case it has escaped your notice, younger generations never establish lives identical to the lives of their forebears. That rule applies even to all of us. Our lives diverged from the lives of our own parents.
For each generation, lives are built and maintained to accommodate the society and technology of that generation. Just as my own father’s toolbox contained some tools no longer useful to me, so too did my mother’s kitchen contain implements no longer applicable or useful in our kitchen. The next time you are baking using an old recipe, try to find your sifter (assuming you ever owned one!).
The question of possessions goes much deeper than tools and implements. Yesterday, we noted that many young people today never purchase fine China, crystal or sterling silver knives and forks. Our homes are full of sterling ware, China, crystal, serving dishes, etc. When we reach the point in our own lives described in Luke 12:20, when we are asked that question, “the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” how will we answer? Whose will they be if our children do not want them? Whose will they be if no one wants to buy them on eBay or some other site? Will our children pitch great grandmother’s China into a dumpster?
Over our almost-sixty years of marriage, Greta and I have accumulated lots of ‘stuff.’ With almost every item we have accumulated, we have a background story. We have items handed down from our own great grandparents and grandparents. We have the family Bible from my great grandparent’s farm, listing the birth of my own beloved maternal grandfather. “the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”
But, thankfully, during those same almost-sixty years of marriage, Greta and I have come to realize the absolute truth of Jesus’ words to that crowd in Luke 15. “one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." Our basement indicates we have been blessed with an abundance of ‘things.’ But, our life together consists of much more than that. We have dear friends and family in Houston, dear friends and family in New England and in California. We have been blessed with wonderful children and grandchildren. If pressed, I am even willing to share stories of those grandchildren.
We were part of a great family of faith in Houston. We are now part of a great family of faith in New England. I have been blessed in my third third of life by a call to ministry, to serve one of God’s congregations. Maybe most importantly, we have each other and we have our own faith. We remember that lesson learned long ago in the hymn Jesus Loves Me. We know that we never walk alone through life. Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. Life consists in the abundance of love.
Stay safe, love abundantly, trust God,
Pastor Ray