Theme of the Week: Attitude of Gratitude
Bible Verse: And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:16-21
Scripture Reading: Luke 12:13-21
“Thank you” rolls off the tongue pretty easily. It’s almost as natural as “How are you?” as we walk past someone in the hallway. It’s a socially expected, and therefore acceptably truncated, ritual. We even ask our kids, “did you say, ‘thank you?’” as though the coerced verbal expression somehow suffices to show real gratitude.
That’s not to suggest that saying thank you is never genuine and heart-felt. But it isn’t always; it can simply be rote rehearsal of the expected vocabulary. Certainly, if we don’t say anything, it would be awkward. But how else can we express gratitude?
The parable of the rich man with the abundant harvest shows us one way that we can demonstrate our appreciation. Sharing.
In the parable, the man sees his good fortune as something to be used for his own pleasure. The bounty of his harvest is his to make his own life easier. And that, Jesus says, is the problem. In the explanation, Jesus contrasts the idea of storing things up for ourselves with being rich toward God. If those things are opposite, then being rich toward God involves sharing. Passing along the blessing that we have received. How are we rich toward God? Not by saving but by sharing.
We can show our gratitude to God by sharing the abundance he has given us. God may supply our needs so that we can meet the needs of others.
Prayer: Father, your generosity is measureless. One of the ways I can say thank you is to share the things you have given me. Help me to see the opportunities around me to bless others in the ways you have blessed me.
Reflection: What can you share and with whom? Find something you have and someone you know and share this week.
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