1 TIMOTHY 6:17

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.

TO PONDER:

Do you consider yourself to be rich? Maybe this little exercise in part can help you reflect on that question.

1. Take out all the furniture in your home except for one table and a couple of chairs. Use blanket and pads for beds.
2. Take away all of your clothing except for your oldest dress or suit, shirt or top. Leave only one pair of shoes.
3. Empty the pantry and the refrigerator except for a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt, a few potatoes, some onions, and a dish of dried beans.
4. Dismantle the bathroom, shut off the running water, and remove all the electrical wiring in your house.
5. Take away the house itself and move the family into the tool shed.
6. Cancel all subscriptions to newspapers, magazines.. This is no great loss because now none of you can read anyway.
7. Lop off twenty-five or more years in life expectancy.

That puts things in a different light doesn't it. Command those who are rich. Paul is talking to us. The food we eat, the house we live in, the bed we curl up in, the medical care available to us are all gifts from a God who is blessing us. What are we trusting in to give us hope, to be the measure against whether life is good and we are blessed? Living with certainty, living the resurrection life, is living with a humility that recognises the giver of these gifts and so lives generously and expansively for others, because we know the greatest treasure we have received is a restored relationship with the God of all blessing.

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, thank you for the everyday blessings I enjoy. Help me not to put my faith in what I have, but in you the giver of all good things who has given me life forever. Amen.