¹³ Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.”

¹⁴ Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” ¹⁵ Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

¹⁶ Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. ¹⁷ He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. ¹⁹ And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

²¹ “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

Luke 12:13-21

Dear God, I’ve been stewing on something I read on Facebook yesterday. Yes, I got on Facebook and I regret it. But it’s interesting. This man was showing a picture of himself protesting against the “No Kings” protestors in our town and, of course, it got a lot of responses. The comment that caught my eye was the man’s answer to a question about one of the flags he was carrying. He said, “It is the Crusader flag. To me it represents militant Christianity.” I was kind of taken aback and surprised no one had commented on the phrase “militant Christianity.” I don’t want to get into a public debate with this man, but I’m considering private-messaging him and asking him to unpack those two words for me a little. To me it’s not that far off from the parable Jesus describes here of accumulating possessions for yourself. The person in the parable is making his possessions fulfill his need for certainty. If certainty is the idol then the possessions are a representation of his idol. I think the same can be said for political power and influence. If my certainty is bending the will of others so they will make decisions that make me feel safer then controlling them becomes my idol. And how do I do that? Through “militant Christianity” I suppose.

But here I am. I’m just a guy who loves you. And while I want to convince people that a life lived for you is the best way to go, I want to do it for their sake and not mine. And so if they don’t follow what I want, I can still love them and wait for the opportunity to once again invite them through the narrow gate. And if the whole world ultimately turns against me and I have nothing left then so be it. My job today is to worship you as best as I can, with everything I have, and then love everyone in my path. To offer mercy and be a peacemaker. To comfort the mourning and bless the poor in spirit. To accept any persecution on your account that comes my way. To raise the standard on myself and not just accept the 10 commandments, but look to see what they represent in my heart and go to that level with them. To trust you for what I need. To pray well. To intentionally choose to walk through the narrow gate. This is who I want to be today.

Father, help me today. You know some of the prayer requests on my heart. I have a couple of things that have burdened me all weekend, and I need you to intervene. I need you to guide my conversations. I need your help to live up to the ideal I just prayed in the last paragraph. Be with me, sweet Jesus. Be with me, Holy Spirit. Be with me, Father God.

I pray this in Jesus and with the Holy Spirit,

Amen