Ecclesiastes 5:15
“Everyone comes naked from their
mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they
depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can
carry in their hands.”
“You
can’t take it with you,” might be a more succinct way to convey today's
text. Of course, our life-long quest to
amass some degree of wealth might make one wonder if we truly believe this.
The
writer of Ecclesiastes, not known for his warm, fuzzy outlook, has, as did Joe
Friday from the old Dragnet television series, a "just the facts"
mentality. But there is something more
to this discussion which he could not have fully anticipated when writing nearly
four centuries before the birth of Jesus.
Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…but store
up for yourselves treasures in heaven…for where your treasure is, there your
heart will be also.”
Jesus wasn’t encouraging good works that would bring some
materialistic, heavenly reward. He was
challenging his followers instead to live so they could share and build
blessings that would make an eternal difference. In that context, we can take
with us something that truly matters.
Like
most preachers, I have a hard time being succinct, so this devotional is going
on a bit longer than usual. But I close
with a few words from Annie Johnson Flint’s wonderful poem, “The World’s
Bible.”
We are the only Bible the careless
world will read.
We are the sinner’s gospel, we are the
scoffer’s creed.
We are the Lord’s last message given
in deed and word.
What if the type is crooked? What if
the print is blurred?
Prayer: Help me, Lord, to live in your light so others
may clearly see your love. Amen.
Jim Abernathy
No comments:
Post a Comment