I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.
Luke 12, 18.19.
Here we have a parable by means of which Jesus made it clear how foolish it is to trust in earthly possessions and lose sight of eternity while doing so. There was a farmer who lacked the space to store all his rich harvest. Who wouldn’t want to secure the success he has achieved and live as long as possible from the result of his work? From the economic point of view it was sensible. It was a worthwhile aim, so long as things went well.
A few questions remain to be answered, but people generally ignore them, e.g. was the success the result of his own work, or did other circumstances bring it about? What would have happened in the case of war, economic failure or illness? Isn’t there some other fateful power that rules over everything and that we cannot influence, even our great, omnipotent God, on whom we cannot force our will? We prefer to bypass such questions and act as though we were obliged to nobody.
Then comes the decisive question: how far will our provision for the future actually go? Can all the work and succes of the past really prove a reliable provision for the future? Read on tomorrow and see what God has to say on the subject in the words of the Lord Jesus.