Dave spoke from Luke 12:16-20 this morning at Cherry Tree Court. So often, we feel our lives are routine and familiar, but we need to be aware that God can step into any day and change it completely. For Noah, the first day of the flood must have started like any other: working on his boat project which had occupied him for so long, but then the rains started and nothing was the same again. For Moses, it was just another day looking after the sheep… until he encountered God in the burning bush. For David, it was just another day minding the sheep when he was summoned home to meet the prophet Samuel… and told he would become Israel’s king. For Mary, it was just another day until her encounter with the angel. Each person’s life was transformed by their encounter with God.
The day is coming when Jesus will return to earth, and everything will apparently look like just another day until the trumpet of the Lord sounds… The parable Dave read reminds us that days can change really quickly. The rich man seemed to have it all together and anticipated a life of luxury and rest, but was called a fool by God because he had failed to take God into account at all and died that same day.
Death is an inevitable certainty in life, and we need to be prepared to meet our Maker. Rom 3:23 reminds us that all have sinned and there is therefore a chasm between us and God which can only be bridged by Christ. We need to acknowledge our need for salvation, believe Jesus is the way and commit to following Christ, for we need to be ready to meet Christ, either at our death or at His coming.
The tragic events of this week, when twelve people in Paris went to work as usual and never returned home, remind us of the fragility and brevity of life. This parable underlines that fact and shows us that if we want to be called wise by God, we are wise to live every day as if it were our last and evaluate our lives in terms of heavenly perspectives and eternal goals.