Rich toward God?

     This Sunday we are blessed to host Rev. Kathryn Franzenburg of Wartburg Seminary who will preach and share with us about the importance of having a will and legacy giving.  We have chosen this Sunday for this event because of the gospel lesson from Luke 12.  In this lesson a young man asks Jesus to "tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me."  This is still an argument that goes on in families today, especially in cases where the will of the deceased is unclear or not up-to-date.  (In my own family after my grandfather's death the will was a nightmare because of how it was written.)
     But beyond even the legal ramifications of the will, Jesus takes this lesson one further to talk about greed, wealth, and God by telling the parable of the rich landowner.  In this parable the man benefits from good and abundant crops, and he decides to tear down his existing barns and build bigger ones so that he can store up his crop and wealth saying, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ Yet that night God said to the man, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’
     It is because of this question from God that we will also talk about planned giving and about the ability to leave a wonderful legacy by wording something a certain way in your will.  I went to a continuing education piece about planned giving and was amazed at how little it takes to make a big impact in the name of Jesus even after you die.

But wills and planned giving are only legal details, and although they are important because of the world in which we live, Jesus is not as concerned with that as he is with your soul.  

     So it is, Jesus says, with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not 'rich toward God.'  So it is that those who do not take seriously that none of us know the day or hour that will be our last will squander precious resources planning for a future that won't exist.  So it is that those who put their security and comfort in worldly goods will find, once we wake up 'on the other side' that our true comfort and security comes only from God.
     The mystery I am pondering this week is what it means to be 'rich in God.'  After this last week and thinking about prayer, I was commenting that there are so many others in this congregation who could much more effectively preach about prayer and faith.  There is a generation of faithful saints who have seen more than I have, who have experienced more than I have, and whose faith is so much more solid than mine.  They are people who I would consider are 'rich in God.'
     How do you feel about your wealth in God?  I came across the following picture and comment this morning:

A lot of people fail to understand that we are made rich in God, what good is money if we have no hope, joy and love?

 

 

     It is important to remember that no matter our material wealth, we have all we need by hope in Christ Jesus.  As Paul says in our reading from Colossians, "So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory."
     So this Sunday as we talk about the importance of having a will and the ability many of us have to leave a wonderful legacy through planned giving, let us even more talk about being rich in God.