Our stuff

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 12-13; Psalm 118


TO CHEW ON: "And He said to them, 'Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses.'" Luke 12:15


Jesus, the ultimate teacher, sure knew how to grab those teaching moments. Here the request of someone in the crowd for Him to intervene in an estate division problem gave rise to a proverb and a parable about the stuff people own.

The man who called out, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me," was probably surprised when Jesus took him back to considering the basics of possessions. One of the ideas that He alluded to in His answer: "...one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses," is the fact that people very easily let their possessions define them.

We still do that. Notice, for example, how TV commercials tap into our desire to project a good image. One way, according to the ads, is by being the owner of that new car, living in that home on the golf course development with all its amenities, surrounded by brand-name fixtures and furniture.

Jesus' parable draws our attention away from the glittery stuff we love to posses to our impending separation from those things by death. It's inevitable. It may be much nearer than we think. We can't predict when it will arrive in any case. When it does come, "this night" or that, and our souls are required of us, "whose will those things be which you have provided?"

The implied answer is, "They won't be ours." We'll leave them all behind.

A footnote in my Bible says it concisely:

"Possessions neither give life nor provide security; because death separates from things. The fool in the parable mistakenly looked upon his possessions as his own, not gifts dependent upon the will of God and to be used unselfishly." - New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1413.

We can't get through life without possessions. But we can hang onto them loosely, knowing they are lent for a little while. The challenge is to steward them wisely and in a way that will show us "rich toward God." 

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to have Your perspective on possessions. She me how to use them in a way that pleases You. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 118

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Discipleship's competition

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 9:51-62

TO CHEW ON: "And another also said, 'Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.' But Jesus said to him, 'No one having put his hand to the plow, and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.'" Luke 9:61-62


In one of his meditations about discipleship, Oswald Chambers says:

"If any man come to me and hate not . . . , he cannot be My disciple," not, he cannot be good and upright, but, he cannot be one over whom Jesus writes the word 'Mine.' Any one of the relationships Our Lord mentions may be a competitive relationship. I may prefer to belong to my mother, or to my wife, or to myself; then, says Jesus, you cannot be My disciple. This does not mean I will not be saved, but it does mean that I cannot be "His."

The three interactions Jesus had with potential disciples at the end of our reading today (Luke 9:57-62) shed more light on discipleship's competition. It can come not only as human relationships but also as:

1. Material security
When a man approached Jesus and promised, "I will follow You wherever You go," Jesus didn't do what we might have expected, either welcoming or turning him away outright. Instead He told the man I don't even own a place to sleep. We hear no more of the man following Jesus. As a footnote commentary in my Bible explains it: "An emotional enthusiasm that hasn't considered the cost of abandoning material security is insufficient." (New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1406).

Do we do that—get all glowy with the romance of following Jesus, and then reconsider when we realize, missionaries don't often own real estate, have fat pensions waiting for them at retirement, or have the luxury of a six-week winter vacation?


2. Procrastination
In a second case Jesus challenged a man to follow Him, but the man replied, "Let me first go and bury my father." Does Jesus reply, "'Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God,'" mean that the true disciple wouldn't even take time off for a family funeral? Hardly. I've heard someone explain this scenario by speculating that the man's father was probably not even dead at this point. Rather, he was in a life situation where he let current responsibilities trump Jesus' invitation to be a disciple by putting Him off with, 'I'll follow you later, when…'

Do we do that—put off sold-out discipleship for when our family is raised, our current project is finished, it's generally more convenient?

3. Distraction
In the third case, a man volunteered to be a disciple, but wanted first to bid farewell to those at home. Jesus' answer, "'No one having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of heaven,'" says to me that He knew the trip home for this potential disciple would be a distraction and a means to cause him to reconsider his decision.

Do we do that—after hearing His call, return to the people, the books, the advice that conflicts with His absolute claim on our lives? Like the seed that fell among thorns (Luke 8:7) didn't produce because of cares, riches and pleasures, our return "to bid farewell" can have a similar choking effect on our discipleship.

Oswald Chambers continues:

"Our Lord makes a disciple His own possession, He becomes responsible for him. 'Ye shall be witnesses unto Me.' The spirit that comes in is not that of doing anything for Jesus, but of being a perfect delight to Him. The secret of the missionary is - I am His, and He is carrying out His enterprises through me.

"Be entirely His" - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, September 4th reading.

How will I respond to that challenge? How will you?

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, Your call to discipleship was not casual in the first century and is no more casual today. Help me to be a true disciple. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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