All deeds are right in the sight of the doer, but the Lord weighs the heart. Proverb 21:2
for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. Luke 6:45
Sharing in The Master’s Happiness
If by some very unique way I was able to transport myself back to the spring of 33 A.D., to ask this Jewish Rabbi from Nazareth a question or two, exactly what is it that I would ask Him? What would be my most important thoughts or real life, pressing personal crises that would drive me to seek after Him as He and His selected disciples were making their way from Bethany, to celebrate the High Holy Day of Passover in Jerusalem?
I would want to believe that while standing in His presence I first would humbly ask Him if my heart was right or that if I had done most of the things in my life, that somehow measured up to Your standards, thus, granting me somehow favor in matters pertaining to eternal life?.
I would think that this was not an inappropriate question to ask Him for somewhere I heard that this man named Jesus, was The Lord of my soul Salvation!
While I had His undivided attention I would in a very tearful manner, just ask Him if He could somehow enable me to increased knowledge and wisdom to better aid my family members, who have been very unsuccessful in enjoying their lives, due to an assortment of ceaseless, human catastrophic events that have robbed them of their identities and purposes.
In His presence, I know this question would be most appropriate because someone informed me throughout my own life, that He healed the sick and delivered those who were demon-influenced and possessed.
My last question would be, Master why is there so much systemic evil that has been permitted to exist for so long, all of which seemingly governs both the hearts and systems of man and their kingdoms?
Yet, before I actually realized, He begin walking away from me and toward His journey to Jerusalem, I still believed that my last question was also appropriate in that somewhere I read that for through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see–such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.
Today’s blog post communicates about a man who did encounter Jesus, yet failed to really know Jesus as The Lord of Salvation, Healer, and Lord over all creation.
What are some of the most important trues that we all may learn from our study of The Parable of the Rich Man? Luke 12:13-21
For me personally, the very last thing I would wish to hear from The Lord after posing my first question to Him is for The Son of Man to call me “A Fool!”
What is it about this man that would lead The Messiah into calling him or any of us today, a FOOL?
Those of us who are faithful and somewhat in good standing with the Lord as we would bear our hearts to the Lord, and afterward would pray that He would say these words to us,
‘Good job! You’re a good and faithful servant! You proved that you could be trusted with a small amount. I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and share your master’s happiness.’ Matthew 25:23
But this was not the case with the rich man in this parable.
There are various definitions of what constitutes a fool in Scripture, all of which depends on the context by which it is written and used in the text. Nevertheless, there are at least three distinct kinds of fools for in Psalm 14 depicts a fool is one who does not believe that God exists!
In Proverb 14, a fool is one who makes a mockery of sin, while in Luke 12, Jesus calls the rich man a fool because He discerned that this man was not prepared to physically die.
Types of Fools
In this man’s very unique opportunity to ask The Messiah anything, he only inquired about family property rights. Yet as the parable noted that this rich man [ as well as many of us today] somehow had an alternative motive or mal-informed purpose of the Master’s attention and time.
As is the case with this rich man, his encounter was based upon how he saw Jesus only as a Scribe who by the tradition of men, was a custodian of the Law of matters of material secular inheritance as in direct contrast to matters of spiritual inheritance.
One of the very first trues that this study may offer us is that our Lord and Savior is not required to respond or react to any of our misguided personal appeals, pleas and or petitions that are outside of the sphere of His very unique mission of redeeming our sin-sicked souls.
Second, one of life’s greatest impetus of hate and violence within the heart of many human-beings, as well as Nations, is the spirit of covetousness. Looking within the heart of this rich man, The Master quickly discovered that this living soul had based the foundation of his entire life upon the folly of covetousness which is both foolish and fatal.
The Master called him a fool because He discerned that the means by which this rich man lived [materialistically] outdistance the ends for which he lived.
God has designed us to be spiritual and physical beings that His
This man was a fool also do to the fact that most of his dialogue centered around himself, for within the telling of this parable, this man reference himself and or his possession over eleven times.
He was a fool becase he failed to realize that there is nothing in the world and the world to come, that any of us will possess or accomplish without the aid or assistance of someone else. We all are dependent on others throughout our lives.
He was foolish in the eyes of The Master because of his inability to see or acknowledge that everything about this life is only possible by our total dependence on God as our source and provider.
This man in the parable was not identified as one who did not believe in God, however by all indication, his actions, thoughts, and deeds depict him as a practical atheist because his worldview and belief system was devoid of the moral if not a spiritual construct of God and His Kingdom.
Materialism
Much of our activity these days is nothing more than a cheap anesthetic to deaden the pain of an empty life.–Unknown
The Master offers each of us greater than the empty life of materialism which is foolish compared to what only Messiah grants to a heart that is made ready to receive far greater rewards and gifts, such as the spiritual inheritance of eternal life within the Kingdom of God.
The rule and preoccupation with the spirit of covetousness myopically disable a person’s ability to see that all true life is a gift that is produced and governed by the spiritual laws of a perfect and holy Creator instead of the laws of economics and capitalism of sinful men.
This man lived as a practical atheist who saw his wealth as his source instead of God, thus he lived and would die a God-less centered, foolish existence which accounts for his need of an additional abundance of wealth to fill the emptiness of his soul-life without God.
And This is Life Eternal
There is no clearer Biblical verse that speaks to the only hope that any soul has in this life as these words by Messiah to His Heavenly Father:
Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent…, John 17:1-3
If this rich man or any man or woman is in the presence of Jesus The Messiah, I strongly hope and pray that they would understand the need of an evangelic knowledge of God, as the God and Father of Christ, as the God of all grace, pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin.
All eternality rest upon this divine revelation that Christ is the Mediator that lived and practiced a Kingdom lifestyle before a sinful world, that He overcame in every possible way for
He then, and forever more, offers any soul the opportunity to believe and walk in Him, and trusts in His blood, His righteousness, and His sacrifice for soul salvation; and which, though imperfect, is a progressive process as one works out their soul salvation daily in the grace of God. Amen.
Grace and Peace