PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Luke 12:32-34
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out.” (Luke 12:33)
‘What’s in your wallet’ was voted the best business tagline in 2011.
Capitol One, an American financial institution, wanted to fill your wallet with money.
Actually, their money, with interest, in order to fill their own wallets.
Jesus also wants to know what’s in your wallet, but he wants to empty it.
He wants you to invest it, but not in yourself… in others.
Jesus wants us to invest in something that will last forever.
To invest in blessing and helping others, in doing good.
God has blessed this world with more than enough for everyone.
He has blessed us so that we could bless others, and be blessed even more.
Jesus loves people more than possessions or pleasure, and we should too.
“Sell your possessions and give to the poor.” (Luke 12:33)
I’ve not met a christian (myself included) who takes THIS part of the bible literally.
And I do not yet have the faith to obey this command… but I still need to face it.
Am I willing to let Jesus look in my wallet (heart), to see what’s in there?
PRAYER
Lord, these words challenge me, and rightly so. May your Spirit keep pressing me to re-evaluate my priorities, and make them more like yours!
Its hard to let go! But I love the last line “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”. Giving our treasures away ensure our hearts are with those most in need – not only focused on our outcomes. A great reminder that our treasure isn’t just money but it is also time, presence, or maybe that extra umbrella in the car.
When I think about this today what immediately came to mind was….Covid vaccines. 10% of the world (the richest part) have received 90% of the vaccines. My cash and possessions will do nothing to change that. Sharing with the poor, blessing those who are needy means more than I can take in. By Canadian standards I would be considered the lower end of middle class, but in the world I am still in the top 1%. My prayer to be helped to consume less and share more, but I am so afraid of what will happen to me. It still comes down to trust and allowing myself to be taken care of by God. I want to love others, and I do in a meagre way. May I learn to more diversely love and with more unity for all humanity.
There is no doubt about it, we are rich in comparison. What I appreciate about Jesus is that he only wants us to acknowledge our struggle to trust and love others, and to want to be more trusting and loving. From this starting point the Lord is blessed by our ‘meagre’ first steps, and multiplies their impact beyond what we can imagine. “Even a cup of cold water”, which seems so insignificant on our part is worthy of celebration from Jesus’s point of view (Matthew 10:42). This is not an excuse to stay where we are, but neither are we condemned for where we’re not. Grace takes us where we are and helps us stumble little by little in the right direction. Your honest assessment of your ‘meagre way’ and your longing to love others more diversely shines Jesus to me!
Not to be ungrateful, but I find that often my possessions wear me down. I’ve got to get rid of stuff – yet somehow stuff comes back. Do my possessions possess me? – they take time to take care of – yes I should not be wasteful but stewardly, but I shouldn’t let it dominate my time- less is definitely better – the more I have the more I need to take care of. But is my ‘heart’ on my possessions? Do I protect them too much – keep them for myself – no rather they are meant to be used and shared. Lord help me to have the right attitude to my stuff and not let it stand in the way of a heart devoted to you!!
What is the treasure that I seek? Does the way I spend my treasures/money also show that I am a kid of the Kingdom? The Lord has blessed me and those blessings I need to share with others. Does my monthly statement from my bank show that. All of my life I need to serve the living God and all of my doings need to show that I am His and He is mine.
1 We give thee but thine own,
whate’er the gift may be;
all that we have is thine alone,
a trust, O Lord, from thee.
2 May we thy bounties thus
as stewards true receive,
and gladly, as thou blessest us,
to thee our first fruits give.
3 To comfort and to bless,
to find a balm for woe,
to tend the lone and fatherless
is angels’ work below.
4 The captive to release,
to God the lost to bring,
to teach the way of life and peace–
it is a Christlike thing.
5 And we believe thy Word,
though dim our faith may be;
whate’er for thine we do, O Lord,
we do it unto thee.