Thursday, February 22, 2007

The Four Woes of Luke 6 - Woe 1: Against Earthly Riches

"'But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.'"

~Luke 6:24 (ESV)

Jesus provides us with four merciful "woes" or warnings in Luke chapter 6. And no, they're not dazzled "woahs" as in "Woah, dude!" No, these are merciful warnings as in "Woe to you" from the mouth of Christ Himself. As with all of Scripture, we will do well to heed them and grow in our love for Christ in doing so!

There are many things vying for our attention that claim to be the ultimate comfort, yet they are earthly. Anything other than God that we look to to function as God is a deception and an idol. Only God, the only comfort, can function as God, the only comfort!

The rich are warned with a merciful warning that those who look to what they have now on earth for their comfort, that indeed shall be the end of their comfort. If that is all there is to life, does life not seem meaningless? But there is so much more to it, the glory of God! Eternal satisfaction in Him that ever increases!

Shall we seek after riches on earth? Shall we store up meaningless things? Shall we create idols to "function as God" to satisfy ourselves? Then that shall be our consolation, our comfort, our reward. The fact is that we all do! Our heart is a "factory of idols," as C.J. Mahaney quotes in his excellent and life-changing (I kid you not) message series, The Idol Factory. This series revealed to me the Biblical name of my many sins and the nature of the deception of my heart. I know I can so quickly, if my eyes are not on my Savior, be deceived into thinking satisfaction can be achieved in something other that Christ.

O, may it never be that we live our lives for these things! Christ is the only One needed, Who matters, and Who satisfies with an everlasting satisfaction and an ever-increasing thirst for more of Himself.

O, Fountain of Grace,
Fountain of Mercy, truth, and life,
You are the perfect Prince of Peace
All of my days,
May I always strive for Your name praised,
You are the God over all

Challenge and Application Questions

  • What does satisfaction in Christ look like in the life of a Christian and why iks it critical?
  • Are you satisfied in Christ? Evaluate your thirst for God.
  • What competes most for your satisfaction, energies, your heart, your thoughts, and your devotion other that Christ (like the rich man's devotion to riches)? How will you seek to defeat these idols in your life and fall more in love with Christ?



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