This weekend Cheryl and I were driving and listening to Sirius XM 70’s on 7.  A song came on and in parenthesis behind the title was the year it was released – 1979. I commented to my dear bride, “This song was released 45 years ago, the same year we were married.” Neither of us said anything for a moment, and then I added, “Do you realize that if we had listened to a 45 year old song the year we got married, it would have been from the Great Depression?” We both laughed at the realization that we have indeed been around for a while and feel blessed to have spent so much time together.

It also got me to thinking about time. I have known for some time now that I am much closer to the day of my death than I am to the day of my birth. While the Bible has a lot to say about that, as I was contemplating my mortality I thought of this parable of Jesus.

Luke 12:16–21 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 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 all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things 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 anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

While we have been blessed, we haven’t stored up a lot of treasures here on earth. I know that we have a lot more than many people in this world, and we are grateful for the way we are able to live in retirement. It is worth noting that for our entire marriage we have always given at least 10% of our wages and monetary blessings to the work of the church here on earth. In addition to that, Cheryl and I have also made provision in our wills that stipulate when we are both in heaven with Jesus, 10% of our estate will go to various ministries that seek to share Jesus with those who do not yet know and believe in Him.

We have done so because we know we are “rich toward God.” We enjoy the riches of grace, mercy, forgiveness, life now and life forever. We have these riches not because of anything we have done, but entirely because of what Jesus did in our place. His death to pay for our sin and His resurrection to conquer death for us is what gives us peace. And that certainty shapes our perspective on life.

Perhaps it is worthwhile to remind you of the setting in which Jesus told this parable.

Luke 12:13–15 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

I thank God for teaching me that my life is not about how much “stuff” I have. It is about being in a right relationship with Him, recognizing the blessings I have all come from Him, and delighting in the relationships that He has given me with family and friends.

Thanks be to God!