PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
Luke 12 (click the link)
KEY VERSES:
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. And 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.” (Luke 12:16-21, NIV)
REFLECTIONS:
Jesus gives us a wealth of wisdom to live by in this chapter as he talks both to his disciples and to the throngs of people that have tired of the hypocrisy and rituals of religion and are drawn to Him and his radical new way of loving and looking at the world and life. He warns of Pharisee phoniness and against being bluffed into silence, insincerity and a hidden life by them. He talks to us about NOT WORRYING, about greed and hoarding up possessions and about being ready for His return.
As I attempted to attempt to capture the volumes of wisdom and attach some personal reflection, the idea of the barn came to me. In the parable, Jesus told how a rich man hoarded his possessions and crops in his barn and there was such a surplus. Instead of sharing, he decided to take life easy, eat, drink and be merry and build a bigger barn. Jesus said that fool would lose his life that very night.
Journey with me on this idea. imagine our life—our body, inner self, soul and home is like a barn and let’s apply this chapter’s wisdom. What would it look like to leave the barn door wide open?
Warnings against phoniness, wearing masks, what is hidden will be
exposed.
We all have and will sin—we
struggle with our worst ways, negative tendencies and sin. Leaving the barn open means putting the mask
down and being real and honest about who we are, our real self—including our
struggles, wounds and sin.
Fear is a strong paralyzing
force. It can cause us to wear masks,
hoard possessions, stay silent and freeze us into inaction. Jesus tells us don’t be afraid of what man
can do to you. God LOVES us and wants to
even give us His Kingdom. He even knows
the number of hairs on our head (which for a few of my friends it doesn’t
require a lot of math)—oops I digress. He will give us what we need—all the
basics and then more if we leave the door open!
There is nothing man can do to us-if they take it all… our stuff, even
our bodies… they can’t touch our soul.
Our Father promises to give us what we need even the words to speak when
we speak for Him. What if instead of
clinging tightly to our money, possessions, family, stuff, mask, and image—we
just opened the barn door… let the worry and fear out… and just let God.
Everyone who has been given much and entrusted much, much will be asked.
Leaving the barn door open means… sharing
and giving of what you have been entrusted with—possessions, gifts, love, time…
Live life boldly.
Live our journey with God with boldness
free of our control, fear and worry.
Speaking for Him with the words He gives us. Living expecting and ready for His
return. Open to Him—to his leading, love
and gifts way beyond what we could ever dream, strive or worry for. Living
with the barn door wide open!
I struggle with keeping the barn door open. I worry most about losing my loved ones and
not having enough to support myself where I would be dependent on someone
else. This chapter’s wisdom really
challenged me to trust more—my fears do cause me to wear a mask, to be less
generous, more controlling and worry too much.
I invite you to a time in prayer with your Father. What would he tell YOU about:- dropping the mask and being real?
- fear and worry? Is there a something you need to let GO and let God?
- is there an area where He wants you to be more generous—of your time, energy, money or even sharing yourself… being open and allowing Him to use your gifts, wounds and struggles?
WHO AM I?
Hi! I’m Cinda Brooks, and I'm still traveling… Thinking it couldn’t get any better… it got better. My family in Uganda and my parents all met at my brother’s house in Bozeman, Montana and we’re having a ball—all 17 of us! Savoring the gift of family.
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