MORE THAN ENOUGH

SCRIPTURE

Time after Pentecost - Lectionary 18
Luke 12:13-21 (NRSV)

Be rich toward God, your treasure

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."


DEVOTION

Mercy! Today's devotion is a poignant reminder of what is truly important in this life and the life to come.

So often, we get caught up in chasing materialistic dreams of wealth, power, and success. We work to acquire stuff and we want stuff to acquire fame and the respect of others.

It is a terrible cycle because there will always be someone who has more stuff than we do. There will always be another company willing to make the next car, boat, tennis shoe, piece of jewelry, video game, computer, cell phone, or pair of jeans that is "to die for."

If we make chasing stuff our primary focus in life, we will NEVER have enough and we will ALWAYS be dissatisfied. Furthermore, if we are always worried about what other people think about us, we will never feel very good about who we are at the core of our beings.

Today, Jesus seems to be saying, "Stop the madness!"

Don't worry so much about being rich in stuff, worry more about being rich toward the things of God.

God considers us rich when we are full of love, joy, and peace. God considers us rich when we liberally share Jesus with everyone whom we meet. God considers us rich when the Holy Spirit overflows out of our lives and into the lives of others through acts of generosity and service.

When we place our value squarely in the heart of God, we will realize that we are very rich indeed! We are made in the image and likeness of God, and we are loved beyond reason and comprehension by the same. GOD has been so rich toward us and we are invited to be rich toward God in return.

If you are looking for a cure for low-self esteem and high anxiety stemming from always wanting more, take a moment to see yourself through God's eyes.

Begin to count your blessings--name them one by one! You may even want to write each one down; soon you will realize that you cannot possibly count all the good that God has already done toward you!

God considers you so lovable that Jesus died on the cross to redeem your life from sin, death, and the grave and to open up heaven's doors to your eternal life!

You are precious, priceless, and perfect just the way God made you!

Let us stop chasing stuff and take a hold of Jesus! He's MORE THAN ENOUGH.


INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta