Seek His kingdom, and these things will be provided to you.

Luke 12:8-34  from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“Now I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before people, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God; ⁹ but the one who denies Me before people will be denied before the angels of God. ¹⁰ And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. ¹¹ Now when they bring you before the synagogues and the officials and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; ¹² for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

¹³ Now someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But He said to him, “You there—who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over the two of you?” ¹⁵ But He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. ¹⁷ And he began thinking to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. ¹⁹ And I will say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is demanded of you; and as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’ ²¹ Such is the one who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in relation to God.”

²² And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I tell you, do not worry about your life, as to what you are to eat; nor for your body, as to what you are to wear. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens, that they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add a day to his life’s span? ²⁶ Therefore if you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about the other things? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither labor nor spin; but I tell you not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ²⁸ Now if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. ³⁰ For all these things are what the nations of the world eagerly seek; and your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ But seek His kingdom, and these things will be provided to you. ³² Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.

³³ “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor does a moth destroy. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

In John 10:10 Jesus says:  “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”   In today’s text Jesus says:  “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.  The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began thinking to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. And I will say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is demanded of you; and as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’ Such is the one who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in relation to God.”  There is a tendency today for people to equate the abundance of Jesus with excess; with having more than we need. Whenever I read this parable about the rich man who wanted to build bigger barns, I can’t help but to think of how many storage facilities there are all around this country. People actually pay to store possessions that they do not need or use. Often, as in the parable, those stored up possessions are left to someone else. Jesus warning is to be on guard against every form of greed. Greed isn’t really about what we have. It is about what we want. Greed is not being satisfied with enough and wanting excess.

Jesus says: “For this reason I tell you, do not worry about your life, as to what you are to eat; nor for your body, as to what you are to wear. For life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, that they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! And which of you by worrying can add a day to his life’s span? Therefore if you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about the other things? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither labor nor spin; but I tell you not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things are what the nations of the world eagerly seek; and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be provided to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.”  We have so much in this nation, that it can be difficult to truly know the level of our faith. Would we still trust in God if it had to be for our next meal? If there was no excess, nothing stored up, neither food, nor clothes; no money in our pockets or the bank, would we still have faith? The measure of true faith is known out of need not excess. Hebrews 11:1 says:  Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  It requires no faith to believe for what we already have. When our faith is in the things that we have stored up, we are not trusting God, but those things and our own strength.

Jesus says:  “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor does a moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  It is not that we truly need to sell everything we have. It is not wrong to plan ahead, to save and to have provision for the future. What we need to do, is to check our hearts, to see where our faith truly is. Do we trust what we have accomplished, saved and stored? Or is our treasure in the kingdom of heaven? In Philippians 4:11-13, Paul describes well what it means to live in the abundance of Christ:  Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, all that I truly lack in this world is more of You. The abundant life You came to give is a life of faith and trust in You. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.  I will not be afraid, because You have chosen to give me the kingdom. What else could I need. Amen.