Watch and wait! That is the cry throughout the ages, throughout the pages of Scripture, and that cry still goes out from pulpits across Christendom. It is the final Sunday of the church year. We end with an eye to the sky as we await the return of our Lord in glory. But that topic – watch and wait – isn’t a great one.
Total dependence doesn’t sound like a great idea in our ear. We like to be SELF dependent. The Rich Young Ruler was looking for an 11th Commandment when he came to Jesus. What he found was a loving God who crushed his sinful pride.
Last week we learned the hard truth that while money can help make life easier in some ways, it cannot bring true happiness and fulfillment. This week we see that as much as money lets us down in life, its ultimate failure to deliver on its promises happens in death.
Serve God with money. That is a hard truth. Our text from Luke 16 is one of the more confusing parables to folks. Yet, it’s message is simple. It’s not your money.
The found are left. On a certain level anything that is lost was at one point “found”, right? This point of logic matters spiritually because of how we look at the world around us. Where do you see yourself? Are you found or lost?
The first will be last. That sounds like it could be a confusing truth. As we look at our text from the gospel of Luke we see the hard truth.