Take Hold of Life

 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

We had a birthday party yesterday for my uncle Brad at the Checkerboard.  For him, he thought it was exactly that but little did he know that his family had been keeping the fact that his son, Kody, was home on leave from the Navy a secret from him.  After the rest of us had gotten there, a couple minutes later, Kody came walking in holding a birthday cake but Brad had his back to the door and did not see him until he saw all of our reactions.  But once he turned around, he could not get up fast enough to hug his son.  It was pretty emotional for the rest of us to see Brad’s reaction and the long embrace.  It was almost like Brad was taking a hold of Kody and not letting go.  This morning, I want us to look at our faith and how we take a hold of the love, mercy and grace of God.  We should embrace our faith just as Brad embraced Kody and not want to let go.  

For the second time in as many weeks, the lectionary has us again focusing on wealth and money.  Paul’s understanding of human nature allows him to understand that humans have a tendency to let things like wealth and greed take away from our faith.  And for the second week in row, Paul’s comments are not much different than those we found in Luke last week.  Paul again stresses that it is not wealth itself that is the sin for us, it is the attitude in which that wealth was gained or maintained that we find the sin.  It is important to note that people like Paul would not have been able to do the things they did without the help of those who had wealth.  Paul would not have been able to travel and do the mission work he did without the help of wealthy benefactors who supported his ministry.  This brings us to a fine line that we must be aware of.  We all know that Jesus and his ministry was focused on the poor, the homeless, and the downtrodden but at the same time, if it were not for those who supported his ministry, those who allowed Jesus into their homes and fed Jesus and the disciples were very important to his ministry.  Jesus and Paul both understood the need for those of people of wealth to support their ministries but at the same time, wealth and the acquisition of it must not become our focus in life.  Our focus is to be on God and God alone.  Paul and Jesus knew that managing wealth without greed would be difficult for most of us, but it is incorrect to think that they both completely condemned being wealthy.  As a culture in the north western hemisphere, wealth and material possessions are rooted deep within us.  We must be careful to not allow material wealth to get in the way of putting our trust in God.  

In Luke 12 there is a parable about a rich fool who thinks that his wealth on this earth are to be used to secure his eternal life with God.    Our scripture reiterates what we have heard many times over, verse 7 says, “... for we brought nothing into this world, so we can take nothing out of it...”  With all the babies being born this week, this message is especially useful.  When we come into this world, we have absolutely nothing except love and it is this love is the only thing we carry with us as we go into the next life.  It is this love that we are called to share and spread as we walk this earth.  Even a child born to a wealthy family has absolutely nothing when they are first born.  This is a great equalizer because children born in tiny and poor villages of Africa are born with no less than those born to wealthy families.  It may take only seconds for the difference to be made obvious but in that moment we are all equal.  When we think of being born in this manner, it serves as a way to humble all of us.  As soon as each child draws that first breath, the cultural influences start bearing down on us but there is a brief moment where each of us are equals but the vast gaps in wealth of this world start to take effect quickly.  

The story of Brad holding onto his son provides us with a great visual on this topic because it seems that we often hold onto material things with great intensity.  While we might not physically embrace worldly possessions in this manner, we oftentimes do without giving it much thought.  I am not telling you to get rid of these worldly possessions, I am just encouraging you to think about them so you can take hold of your faith like Brad took hold of Kody.    “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.  In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of life that is truly life.”  These are verses 17-19 of our scripture this morning and they provide such a good way of looking at this life.  First, we all know that material wealth is exactly that, it is so uncertain.  From 2008 to earlier this year, many of you probably lost a fair amount of wealth in your retirement because of the stock market and the value of your home.  In a very small amount of time, many future plans were altered due to the loss of wealth.  Job losses, stock market lows and higher gas prices have changed how many people were planning for the future.  When our trust is in wealth alone, we are setting up ourselves for failure and uncertainty.  CBS News  reported in May that the average American household has only recovered about 45% of their wealth since the housing and stock market collapses in late 2007.  But when place our trust and faith into God, there is no loss because we still have love and grace no matter what happens to us during this life.  We may still encounter physical and emotional pain but that love still remains.  God’s love does not have a recession, it does not fail, it does not need bailed out.  Secondly, these verses show us that wealth allows us to be rich in deeds, it allows us to be generous as long as we have the attitude of being willing to share.  Sure, it is not deeds alone that get us into heaven but through these good deeds of generosity, others can come to know God.  Think about your contributions to the community outreach fund and how those gifts to those in need can help spread the message of Christ to others.  Think about your donations to this Sunday School program, Jr. Disciples and Team Christian, you are donating so that youth can learn more about God so that they may someday develop into Christian leaders that will follow your example.  It is because of your generosity that these ministries are possible.  While there is no guarantee that these people will follow Christ, you are still setting before them opportunities to do so.  Lastly, and most importantly, your willingness to give generously creates a foundation, something in which to build upon, so that you may take hold of life that is truly life.  Material possessions, if we allow them, can become what our life is centered around and in the long run, these possessions will undoubtedly let us down.  If you want live, I mean truly live, you must take hold of your faith just a Brad took hold of Kody.  If you wonder why God is not talking to you, you must first listen. There is only one way to experience this life as God intended it and that is through focusing on God.  If you are struggling, take hold of your faith.  If you are hurting, take hold of God.  If something is amiss in your life, take hold of God.  We only get one shot at this life if you want to truly live, to truly be alive, your focus must be on God or will you miss out on so much and you will live this life unfulfilled.  I was told a story a couple of nights ago about a young child who received the greatest gift they could have imagined, a rock.  This child had told one of their family members that they wanted a purple rock for their birthday.  I know it seems strange and it seemed just as strange to family member, but this child wanted a purple rock.  As the child was in the midst of opening these awesome toys and beautiful clothes, they come open the gift containing the purple rock and in that moment the whole world stopped.  They ran and put this rock on their dresser and was so excited about it.  As I listened to this story, I couldn’t believe it but this little purple rock meant the world to them.  No one, including the child, probably knows why this rock was so important to them but they treasured it.  In the midst of this life with nice houses, cars and clothing, allow God to be your purple rock.  As we “open these worldly gifts” do not forget about the simple things such as faith, hope and love.  The child was so excited over something so simple and this morning I am encouraging you to do the same.  Take hold of that purple rock and carry it with you wherever you go.

A few nights ago, Griffin asked us if we could pray when we putting him in bed and I almost lost it.  This is not a result of Cheyanne and I as parents as it those of who in this congregation.  It is because of this opportunity that you all have allowed me to be a part of, it is you whom he sees praying on Sundays that encouraged him to do this.  If it weren’t for all of you encouraging and allowing me to do this, then Cheyanne and I would have missed that moment with Griffin.  It is these types of gifts, a purple rock and a simple question asking if we can pray, that allow us to live, to truly be alive.  As you sit here today, are you truly living?  Or are you missing out on some of the small things that God has put before you?  As we prepare to sing our next hymn, I want you to examine your faith and ask those questions.  Are you seeing God in those little moments?  If you’re not, then I encourage you ask God to show them to you and open your hearts and minds so you do not miss them.  Fight the good fight of faith and carry with you that purple rock so you can live, so you can take hold of life that is truly life, that is truly living.  Amen.   

God Bless,

Clinton

Fairview Christian Church