A Bible "snack"

Did you ever just open the bible and put your finger on a verse and let it speak to you? Of course there's the old joke about the man who did that and hit upon "And Judas hung himself..." Rejecting that one he picked again--"Go and do likewise." (I didn't say it was a good joke)

There's plenty other reasons to not do this bible study method. It takes verses out of all context and gives you just the shallowest of interpretations. That said, I'm going to do that with this week's gospel. The story of the greedy farmer who stores up tons of earthly goods--only to find out what he feared most--you can't take it with you. But we must have a verse! Here goes....

"I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones!" (There are no verse numbers in the Message, so maybe that's not the whole thing--but it will do.)

Is it not wise to save for retirement---a rainy day---college bills? Don't we want bigger barns to make our lives fully "insured." Enough stored up to weather any storm, face any trial or tribulation, and save ourselves? Parables are supposed to make us say, "Huh?" though--so where is the incongruity?

I think it resides partly in this verse. Whoever heard of pulling down a perfectly fine barn, only to raise a newer, bigger one? (This was before Walmarts and SuperWalmarts!) That's pretty extreme and not at all fiscally prudent--that's going off the deep end.

But it illustrates the amount of faith we put in stuff, doesn't it? Jesus reminds us that faith in worldly things is highly volatile--likely to blow up in your face. Medical bills scythe through a lifetime of careful savings. The whim of a down-sizing corporate raider ends the career and the financial certainty enjoyed and counted upon. Life is unpredictable and sometimes stinks--bad. You can try but you can't prepare for every possibility--it's vanity. (Useless to try--never coming to fruition.)

Only faith in God never fails. Oh it may seem like it--just as faith in stuff works sometimes but fails ultimately--faith in God "doesn't work" sometimes (from our perspective) but ultimately and decisively triumphs in the end.

So, are you stowing away something each month? That's good! But store your faith in heaven, because God's love doesn't wax and wane like the Dow. It's there every day--and it's available for free!

Now--"go and do likewise!"


Peace,
Pastor Tom