Take Thine Ease, Eat, Drink, and be Merry....the Wayfarer 3/1/16

“…Take Thine Ease, Eat, Drink, and be Merry.”
3/1/16

“And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.”

(Luke 12:19)

Today we go to the gospel of Luke for our message.  Prior to entering into a discussion of this particular parable of our Lord, I call to your attention my reason for choosing this particular scripture.

We live in a busy world with many concerns and cares for our physical being. More often than not, it is the needs and wants of this world that occupy most of our waking thought.

 It is our obsession with these things that our children see every day of our lives.

  We take great pains to assure that we “prepare” each morning for work, going to bed in time to get a few hours of sleep, setting the alarm clock so that we will rise on time, showering and shaving, rushing out the door for the morning commute whether by foot or conveyance.

We “prepare” for each task that is assigned us each day as is required by our jobs.

Once these preparations are made we divorce ourselves from everything else around us to accomplish our tasks for the day.

When the weekend comes, once again we prepare for any leisure time, planning each moment of it.

For our holidays, we expend a great deal of energy in preparation of how we celebrate that holiday, buying tickets to events, stocking up on the supplies that we expect to need for the weekend, or special day.

We love the preparations for holidays such as the fourth of July, spend money for fireworks and the things for our barbeques.

Halloween is also special and we “prepare by getting the candy and spooky supplies weeks beforehand.

Christmas and Easter are more holidays that we “prepare” for.

Our thoughts are on the gifts to be bought, the decorations, the preparation of the meal and of course the ball games to watch after we stuff ourselves with the things we have “prepared.”

Seldom, if ever is preparation of our soul for eternity discussed.

After all, death is somewhere in a distant future, and if we think about it our thoughts are on our wills and what we wish to be done with our possessions and our funeral arrangements.

 In the course of normal activity, I recently saw many people in preparation for a coming holiday weekend, towing boats to docks, getting the charcoal and lighter fluid for the barbeques, stocking up for the coming party over the weekend.

This saddens me because of the fact that, despite not having any promise of living another day, the thoughts of many, are so preoccupied with the here and now that they haven’t the time to prepare for eternity.

Having said this, I return you to the parable taught by our Lord, beginning at the 13^th verse of the 12^th chapter of Luke:

“And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.

And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?

Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow my fruits and my goods.

And I will say to my soul, Soul thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

But God said unto him, Thou Fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Luke 12 13-21

 I could easily end today’s message at the end of this parable, but I ask your forbearance as I continue this scripture and the lesson being taught the disciples, and, us as well.

Needless to say the parable points out the fallibility of our thinking in terms of preparation only for the things of this life.

It give us pause, knowing our own short lived vulnerability and the fact that what is important to God is none of the preparations I mentioned earlier, but the preparation to meet Him and give account of our lives.

Jesus continued the lesson beginning at the 22^nd verse:

“And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.

The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.

 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?

And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?

If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?

 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

If then God so clothe the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?

And seek not what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.

For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.

But rather seek ye the kingdom  of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Fear not little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning, and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

Blessed are those servants whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.

Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not”

(Luke 12:22-40)

Though the lesson does not end here, but continues through the remainder of the chapter, I will save that scripture for another time.

I urge the reader to finish the chapter, because it imparts further wisdom, and prophecy of things yet to come.

Rather than continue at the risk of completely losing the attention of those who prefer me to be shorter, I will conclude with the following:

The things for which we take thought, (Worry), are already known by, and taken care of, by God.

That is not to say that we shouldn’t work for the future, but that we should also prepare for the time when that future no longer holds meaning!

Christ’s major point, in the parable, and in this scripture, is that the day is coming, (and I personally believe, sooner, rather than later), when he will return for his own.

It is for that day that we most need to prepare, not only ourselves, but our children who learn by imitation of our lives.

There is an old song named the Cat’s in the Cradle that I have a special affinity for, as does my son. 

The reason for that affinity is that time necessitated that we spent most of his growing years apart.

Soldiers sacrifice far more than blood and money!

When my Lord comes, I have no desire to attempt to justify the time not spent in His service, only to know that I already have forgiveness for that time misspent.

I know this forgiveness is already there, because one day back in 1962 I took the time to prepare for eternity.

 I took the time to repent, and beg forgiveness for my sin.

I took time to implore Jesus to be both my Savior and intercessor.

 I still take time daily to repent all the failures since that day knowing that that is also a necessity for my preparedness.

I leave you with some questions:

 What are you prepared for?

What have you prepared your children for?

What do you tell your soul each day?

Do you really have the time to delay preparation for the final judgment, or will God call you before him unprepared?

That choice is yours and yours alone! 



REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND!

Salutations of love for my brothers and sisters in Christ, from this simple sinner saved by His Grace those many years ago.

2 Timothy 1:12 King James Version (KJV)

¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Amen and Amen

the Wayfarer