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? 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. 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 all 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? Luke, Chapter 12, verses 13-21.
Our belief in God isn’t a “Once a Christian-Always a Christian Guarantee” that once you have it, you always have it regardless of your actions. If it were, people could become a Christian, go rob a bank and shoot someone because they need their next fix, not worrying because they think they have Salvation regardless of their actions.
It’s like planting a garden using seeds. That gardener’s energy and enthusiasm are there after they have hoed the rows, preparing them for the seeds to be planted. He carefully plants the seeds and waters them regularly, just as a person who starts a relationship with God has energy and enthusiasm for their new-found faith.
If that gardener were to go on vacation right after planting his garden and expected to find fully grown plants when he returns, he would be greatly surprised! The garden would be overgrown and the vegetables would be strangled by the weeds while the remnants of the garden would still be there. This is similar to what happens to the Christian who doesn’t tend to their faith regularly by making it a DAILY part of their life.
That Christian’s faith will wither away, strangled by the weeds of worldly living while the remnants of that faith will still be there. Our faith needs constant cultivation and care just as the garden does in order to grow and flourish.
Because this is an example of how I’ve applied this Bible passage to my life, it doesn’t necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the passage.
