Devotional Sharing, Submitted by John Ko, Gracepoint Berkeley
Life is more than food and the body is more than clothes in the ways that these are purely physical things. Just as man does not live on bread alone so we don’t live just by food and clothes although most would say these are the most basic of necessities. And they are but God is saying, “Don’t worry about these things. I will provide for you for these things and more. If I take care of the lilies of the field, won’t I take care of you? They are clothed so don’t you worry. This is not all there is to life.”
Jesus’ statement challenges my view of what life is all about because he is telling me the most basic things about life. It’s the fact that I have a soul that needs attention and life. He is saying the world chases after such temporary things. But it’s the special things that I need to focus on and run after – God’s work, God’s will. Jesus is telling me that I need to put aside my agenda like I was challenged from last night’s prayer meeting. I need to die to my self and my worries and agenda and concerns. If I’m saying Jesus is the Lord of my life then he is worthy of my life and all my attention, time, everything. This is the last 10% i’ve been thinking about. Don’t worry God will take care of…X. my family, my future, my job, my finances. He is trustworthy. If he takes care of the lilies of the field then he will take care of the one whom he has breathed life and has commissioned to tell others about him.
The truth of God that makes worrying foolish is that God will care of us. He will feed me and he will clothe me. Why worry about things that God will take care of and he will provide. I don’t gain anything…nothing by worrying. Someone told me this saying: worrying is like a rocking chair – gives you something to do but gets you nowhere. . What are my worries? My job – that i’ll be a terrible worker and won’t get my deadlines done and will let others down, that i’ll fail to do my job well, miss out on a promotion or miss out on some recognition. For my family – what if my children don’t develop in good people or will miss their parent or I wont’ know them. Or finances – that I’ll go into terrible debt, not be able to make mortgage payments and default on my loan, go into bankruptcy, never get out of credit card debt or i won’t be a good minister and many will leave or i’ll fail to lead my students properly or fail to lead my staff or water down the gospel or fail to be a leader who makes some real special impact. These are many worries – some extreme and just crazy and I’m pretty confident won’t happen. But these are worries/fears I have had and can have.
The fears that drive me to store up treasures on earth is ultimately the fear I won’t have anything left for myself at the end of the day. I won’t amount to much – in ministry or in the world. Ultimately this is a worldly desire that I be something. How foolish this fear is. If God is taking care of all my needs then I don’t need to worry about my significance or mark in this world. I should only be concerned as a son. I should then be fully committed to God and trust him. But these fears as I mentioned above can be subltely lived out. it’s hold back a little time for myself, it’s not trying as hard to wake up early and do my dt, it’s not go to Berkeley or not meet that tiring student or give into my desire for sleep instead of prayer and word. My treasures are not necessarily money/material things. it’s just personal desires for ease – physical and emotional. But God is saying don’t worry. Seek after me. Pursue me.
My treasure is God and letting others know about him. But I also know I have treasures in this world – for comfort – emotional and physical. I have treasures to save something for myself. That’s the last 10%. That’s what i need to surrender to God and let die.
Lord, please help me to give that last 10% of what i think is mine. If i trust you are the lord of my life then I trust that you can provide and handle everything. Even when I think i need to take care of my own life and find some space/peace for myself. I don’t have to. You can give me the strength I need. Help me to fight my flesh and live for special things. Please help change my worldview to be centered on others and lay up treasures in heaven.
Devotional Sharing, Submitted by George Hu, Gracepoint Berkeley
What fears drive me to store up treasures on earth?
The fears that drive me to store up treasures on earth are not so much the fear of not making enough money or starving but the fear of not being good enough, the fear of seeming less smart, less capable, and less talented than my peers. This drives me not only to store up treasures on earth in the academic/career sense, but also can affect my motivation to serve God. I fear seeming less capable than my peers at work or school, or fear seeming less capable than my peers at church as well. A new area in which this is relevant has recently surfaced, as I completed classes and am not working on my dissertation. As I ge tmore involved in research, I am getting invited to various events and conferences to present my findings and to speak on the topic, but it has become clear that I need to choose whether to throw in my time to do extra research work or give presentations, and whether to forego those opportunities to spend more time in ministry. The fear of seeming less capable or less committed than my peers at school and in the field is a strong temptation, but I have chosen to store up treasures in heaven, in permanent things where moth and rust cannot destroy and where theives cannot break in and steal. I need to continue to have this perspective as we begin fall ministry.
Devotion Questions:
- In what ways is life more than food and the body more than clothes?
- How does Jesus’ statement challenge my view of what life is all about?
- According to this passage, what truths about God and about life make worrying foolish?
- List out my sources of worry and surrender these worries to God.
- What fears drive me to store up treasures on earth?
- Reflect on the words “your father.” What is the relationship between trusting God as my Father and seeking his kingdom, and laying up treasures in heaven?
- Where is my treasure?
Commentary:
vv.22-34 Having given a negative example of the principle in 12:15 in the parable of the rich fool (12:16–21), Luke provided a corrective to the believer’s relationship to possessions. What follows is material for the disciples, not for the crowds (cf. the introduction to the parallel material in Matt 5:1–2), for they alone know God as their Father (12:30, 32), are God’s flock (12:32), and possess the kingdom (12:32). The catchword that unites this section is the word ‘worry,’ which occurs in 12:22, 25–26. (The synonym in 12:29 is also translated ‘worry.’) Two other sections on possessions will follow in 16:1–31 and 18:18–30.[…]
Rather than worry about ‘things,’ believers should concentrate on the concerns of the kingdom. Having focused their prayers on God’s kingdom, disciples should with singleness of mind focus their wills upon it as well (12:31a). God will provide the basic needs (12:31b).
Luke then added a word of encouragement (12:32; cf. John 21:15–17): they are God’s ‘little flock.’ Although insignificant to the world, they are nevertheless cherished by God. This is followed by a final exhortation to sell their possessions and give to the poor (Luke 12:33) and a proverb that summarizes the problem caused by the accumulation of possessions (12:34). Human desires and longings will be focused on the place where the person’s possessions are concentrated. Death either unites people with their heavenly treasures, which can never be taken away, or deprives them of everything (12:20–21).[1]
[1]Stein, R. H. (2001, c1992). Vol. 24: Luke (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (353). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.