Let Me Hear Jesus Out On This….
“He (Jesus) came to bring men to God, not property to man”
- Leon Morris, speaking on Jesus.
Luke12 starts with Jesus preaching a powerful sermon. The number of folks in the crowd was innumerable. It records that men were falling over themselves to hear Jesus. Waoh…revelation was flowing through.
Then a man made his way to where Jesus would hear him and when he was well positioned, he asked the question he thought will change his life. This man was looking for a solution; an immediate and instant one. Who else can he get it from than the miracle performing Jesus! My Lord! he was in good company and in a good place.
Then he looked at Jesus straight up and spoke thus “Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me” (Luke 12:13). I am very sure Jesus was marvelled and dismayed at the guy. The thoughts going through Jesus’ mind in pidgin English (Warri version) could be loosely translated as “Upon all de Word wey I dey drop, na wetin dey your mind be this?”
Jesus comported Himself and in Queens English answered him as recorded in Luke 12:14–15.
14 And He said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?
15 And He said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
The man was asking for himself. He wanted his matter solved. He was not interested in what Jesus was saying. His question was OP (off point). Jesus was talking about people standing up for Him before men and how God will honour them. This guy is interested in sharing inheritance. Divergent. Opposing. Temporal vs Eternal. I am sure Jesus was like “My guy, wetin na ?”.
But why is this guy acting this way? Because the inheritance issue was more important to him than what Jesus was saying. From his questions, he seems to take the position of the oppressed (maybe the younger one). But if the law of being the elder one favoured him, would he have asked the question? Can you imagine Jesus was dispensing the words that make for eternal life and this guy was thinking of something temporal?
This guy was so consumed with temporal thoughts that he missed the words of life. He was thinking of how his life would be with more resources and that thought gripped him and he could not let go of the inheritance. I am sure he thought the inheritance will make him more comfortable. Yes! And then he can live the life of his dreams. I am sure he’d thought about this inheritance all his life and he was just waiting for such a time like this. But see wetin im broda don do now.
These are my thoughts: this guy lives in every one of us.
Our action is to arrest him whenever he rises in us.
He rises when we put anything above God’s word.
He rises when we think we are more deserving than others.
He rises when we think of “hammering”.
He rises up when we are distracted by the seen (things) and we forsake the unseen (the promises of God).
He is a distraction and should be treated as such.
Today’s gospel might be filled with anecdotes of how Jesus brought property to men. In as much as this might ring true; don’t be DECEIVED because the real story is that HE CAME TO BRING MEN TO GOD.
Anything afterwards na jara.
Regards,
Gabriel.
You can check other uplifting articles on matters of the faith that I have written. They are Rules of Engagement On Social Media For The Christian Soul,The Gentile’s Prayer, Faith Cometh…, Selah Moments, Rooting The Book of Ruth, Timely & Timeless, Me & My Entertainment, The Athlete & I — A Critical Look, My Fellow Prisoners , Holy Paradox, Let’s Hear Jesus Out On This…, Colourful! , More Than Money…, The Boundaryless Life and The Giving Giver
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