Monday, August 12, 2013

An Unexpected Day

" Jesus said to His disciples: ' Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in Heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.  Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, 'The master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the servants, to eat, and drink and get drunk, then that servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master's will but did  not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be [punished] severely." [ Luke 12: 32-48].

There once was a boy who was raised by a mother of great Faith. She taught him to pray. His parents took him to church every week. They said Grace before meals.

This boy grew up to be educated at a fine university. He was very intelligent and capable, and he understood many things.

He married a beautiful, wealthy woman; and a couple of years after the wedding, the couple moved away, to seek their fortunes elsewhere. The young man's parents were saddened to see him go, but they wished him well. After all, they knew that they had given their son the keys to Faith, and an excellent education: all to prepare him well for his future.

The man resented all the things in life that he thought his parents had NOT provided him.  He thought that by marrying wealth, he could enjoy it for himself. But soon, he grew resentful that his wife's wealth was not his own. So he began to accumulate as much wealth as he could for himself.

Soon, the man and his wife grew to resent each other. It had become an unspoken contest, who had accumulated more. Love became confused with money. Their true love for each other dwindled.

Meanwhile, the couple had first a son, then a daughter. The daughter was fearful and rarely spoke. She seemed to get more than a few black eyes. She was walking in her sleep. She ate poorly and had few friends. No one seemed to notice that the household was more abusive than loving.

Every night, the man came home from work, and drank until he was quietly drunk. Then, his behavior towards the daughter became worse.

The man and his wife took the children to church. But as soon as First Communion and Confirmation were done with, they quit all that "church and God stuff."  Instead, the man and his wife found that it was money that made the world go around.

With the things they had accumulated, the couple felt superior to others. They did not believe in sharing anything with those in need. They taught the daughter to "take care of herself first" .

The daughter grew up and moved away. Her father was saddened that she rarely visited.

Many years later, the man awoke one day, and fell to the floor. He passed away instantly. He had not known the hour nor the day when the Lord would come. He had been taught in church how to please God, but he had not made sure to be prepared for God's will. He had not kept the thief at bay.

His daughter did not understand where her father might have gotten his ideas about life and love and  money. She traveled back to the place where her father had been born.

She went about, asking about her father's parents. Everywhere she went, she heard about how generous and loving and giving her grandfather was. He served in the Vestry of his church for many years. Her grandfather had gone back home to the farm where he had grown up and bought his brother a new horse. He bought his wife's brother a new boat for his fishing business, after the old boat sank. He paid for his wife's sister to attend school.  During the war, he had donated his brand new car to the war effort.

Her father's mother had knitted many items for the orphanage each year, so that each child had a gift on Christmas. She had visited her old village during the Great Depression, to deliver food to the families who were literally starving.

Her grandparents had been dead for many years. The daughter barely remembered her grandfather's face. She was a tiny girl when he had died. But their acts of Love and kindness lived on, in Eternity. They had chosen to be ready for when their Master came. They had done His will.

God knew what her grandparents had done. But the daughter also knew the treasure in her grandparents' hearts. This treasure, this Love, could never be stolen by a thief, could never corrode, or fade away, or grow moldy or be destroyed. This Love lived on, way beyond the years her grandparents had lived on earth.

And all because this Treasure was not any physical thing like gold or jewels, that have worth only if hoarded or sold for more gold. No, this Treasure came from God. And this Treasure has worth, only when given away!

[Related Posting, "The Hoarder", August 5, 2013].

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2013. All Rights Reserved.

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