Friday, May 17, 2013

Devotional 103 - Don't Be a Fool



"You've seen people treat this world like it was a permanent home. It's not. You've seen people pour time and energy into life like it will last forever. It won't. You've seen people so proud of what they have done, that they hope they will never have to leave - they will."  And the Angels Were Silent  Max Lucado

Luke 12: 19-21   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!" But God said to him, "You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?"
Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.

When I was a special education teacher many years ago I had a little girl who collected grasshoppers out on the playground. She would never play with the other children. While kids were flying through the air on the swings, or bouncing a ball, or chasing one another around the fenced in yard, little Curly Locks was catching grasshoppers and putting them in her zip lock bag. She missed out on all the fun with the other children because she was obsessed with grasshoppers.

One day, on the school bus, wouldn't you know, she forgot to zip lock her bag and she dropped it. Oh the hoopin' and hollerin' that ensued as all those little green and brown buggers began to hop their way around the young captive audience. There was more than bugs jumping around that day.

The bus driver had to pull over and do some extermination work. Curly Locks was inconsolable. Her passion was gone. Terminated. No more. And even if they had not escaped that day, grasshoppers do have a short life span in a zip lock bag.

The next day the children were still there ready to play, but Curly Locks brought her empty zip lock bag and began the obsessive work of collecting again.

What about you? Are you filling your bag with grasshoppers? Are you pouring time and energy into things that won't last? Are you missing out on the joy of playing with the people around you? Or do you only see the problems that need to be collected in your zip lock bag?

Are you taking time to look up and see God smiling? Is God your passion? Does He delight? Do you find your refreshment in Him? Is He your treasure? If you are going after what you can see and touch and own, it is not real. It will not last. You have got to learn to think invisible, intangible, and eternal.

"Joy is the garment of those who are rich toward God. They always have it on." Enough  Will Davis Jr.

Psalm 16: 11 "...in Your presence there is fullness of joy..."