By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo
Luke 12:19-20 "And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." But God said to him, you fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" - NIV.
Jesus was responding to a man who wanted Him to use His influence to force his brother to share family wealth. Genuine issue it was, but Jesus looked at the real matter in his heart and taught powerful truths using the parable of the rich fool. One of these truths being comparison between the temporary and eternal. There are things which last temporarily only in this life, and there are those that last beyond the present life into eternity.
Many of the things we crave for, struggle for and fight to get, last but for a while. Soon or later they are gone or we are gone and leave them as the rich fool was strongly reminded! And yet they are the things which occupy most of our lives. They include seeking material welfare, power and authority, fame, etc. But things of etetnal significance elude many people most times. This is comprised in a living relationship with God as Jesus concluded in that parable. At the end of this life, that’s what will matter more than anything else.
If we understood that there is an eternity, and that this life is but a preparation for it, we would live our lives and do things differently with that in mind. Even if one lived to be 100 years, that’s nothing compared to eternity. By the end of those few years, the things we craved for have either faded off and gone or cease to mean much anymore. These things come and go. They are temporary. Let’s live this temporary life with the eternal in mind.
Ecclesiastes 12:1 "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them"
Shalom children of God.