“Strive For His Kingdom”
Someone
in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family
inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or
arbitrator over you? 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.” Then he told them a parable: The land of a rich man produced
abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place
to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns
and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I
will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax,
eat, drink, be merry.’ 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?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not
rich toward God.”
He
said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider
the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn,
and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you
than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span
of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you
worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor
spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of
these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and
tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you – you of
little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are
to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of
the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you
need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and
these things will be given to you as well.”
“Do
not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you
the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves
that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes
near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also.”
Luke 12:13-34
There
are stories in life that contrast the freedom of a generous spirit with the
frustration of a grasping hand.
It is
sometimes hard to put the words of our Lord into daily practice. But if we
honestly obey Him, He will guide our steps and guard our hearts from worry.
There is more power in the open hand than in the clenched
fist.
Our Daily Bread –