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An inheritance question
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An abundant harvest
The ground of a rich man brings forth an abundant crop. Full baskets and gathered sheaves picture the plenty with which Jesus begins the parable.
Someone in the crowd asks Jesus to tell a brother to divide an inheritance. Jesus does not take up the requested role of divider. He warns about covetousness and tells a story in which abundant possessions cannot provide the security their owner expects. Luke 12:13-21
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The future the barns cannot secure
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Considering greater storage
With more produce than he knows where to store, the owner considers what to do. He resolves to pull down his barns and build greater ones for his crops and goods.
The land of a rich man produces plentifully. Faced with more than he can store, he plans to tear down his barns and build larger ones. His imagined future centers on goods laid up for many years and the ease those goods will allow.
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Imagining years of ease
The owner imagines years of ease, telling himself to rest, eat, drink, and be merry. This scene pictures the comfort he plans for himself, not a future the parable says he lived.
The interruption is abrupt: his life will be required that night. The stored possessions cannot keep the future he has planned within his control. Jesus concludes by contrasting treasure laid up for oneself with being rich toward God.
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What does being rich toward God change?
The story does not say the crop was dishonestly gained, nor does it condemn every act of saving or practical preparation. Its challenge concerns the place possessions occupy in the man's understanding of life. Reflection might ask what you expect money to secure and whose needs disappear when everything is arranged only around your own ease.
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The Rich Man and Lazarus
A suffering man lies at a rich man's gate. The account moves from that ignored need toward a call to hear the word already given.
Open study →Birds and Lilies
Jesus draws attention to creatures and flowers while speaking of daily needs. The invitation is to seek the kingdom with trust in the Father's care.
Open study →Faithful Stewardship and the Cost of Discipleship
Continue through the connected teachings in this collection and compare their distinct settings.
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