Parable of the Rich Fool

As you begin to read this I would like you to first ask yourself a very important question and please take the time to think about your answer, search your heart and answer honestly! What do you believe it would take to make you a truly happy person? I once believed that if I was successful in business, had all the nice luxuries anyone could want and the money to guarantee I would never want for anything again with a secure retirement so I could have and do anything I wanted in life, then I would be truly happy. I think I was searching for the end of the rainbow! Such is the thinking of the man in this parable: Luke 12:16-21 16And he spake a parable unto them, saying, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17And he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. The truth of Christ' words should be readily apparent, no one is promised tomorrow, not a single one of us can guarantee we will wake up the next day we when lay down to go to sleep. We may all think we are invincible but the truth is thousands die unexpectedly every day and age has nothing to do with it. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 KJV 1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. God tells us He formed us in our mother's womb and has written each of our days before one of them came to be. It is God who gives us each day we are on this earth for He has already ordained our life span. You may think otherwise and you have that right because He also gave you the "free will." But, what you believe won't change the fact that God is sovereign and what He has ordained in His plan for your life will happen exactly as He has planned it. The meaning of life can never be found in material possessions. God made us humans to be spiritual beings and when we don't have a right relationship with Him we cannot lead a full and satisfying life. All we can be are spiritual paupers and a right relationship with God can only be experienced through Jesus Christ. John 10:10-11 KJV the thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Jesus the Christ, our promised Messiah, came to give us an abundant life if we would but trust in Him to provide for our needs. By faith we are justified and by faith we receive all we need to live an abundant and happy life - the rest are just chasing rainbows. How rich are you today towards God? His retirement plan is a mansion with streets of gold, the tree of life and the security of a place in heaven with the eternal Father and creator of the universe. Can any amount of riches you amass on earth during your short lifetime compare? Bob Goulding © August 2007 Return To: