Wednesday, 17 December, 2003

This series of devotions are focused around Soren Kierkegaard’s “Christian Discourses etc.” The biblical text to consider during these devotions is: Matthew 6:24-34.



Earthly riches always make a poor showing in relation to death. But the Christian who in poverty is without anxiety of poverty is also dead to the world and from the world. Hence (the Christian) lives. For the bird ceases to live by dying, but the Christian lives by dying. And therefore all the wealth of the world which suffices a (person) for a whole life makes so poor a showing in comparison with his/her…poverty, yea, or his/her riches. That a dead person needs no money, we all know; but the living person who really has no use for it must either be very rich – and then it well may be that /she needs much of it - or s/he must be a poor Christian.



What a great comment, “Earthly riches always make a poor showing in relation to death.” It is a great comment in regard to the status of one’s riches in the face of the finality and power of death. It is also a wonderful part of a vision. When we, as followers of Jesus, are dead to the values and priorities of a “turned-in-on-self” world, the power of riches loses it power over us…for we do not find our ultimate meaning and worth in those riches. Thus, we die to the world’s brokenness that is so typified in the riches we are able to take on for ourselves. Sharing freely is a concept that does not fit into the way riches want to control and hold us. Special Interests are not our interests and therefore they cannot rule us or direct us. Living by dying is such a contrary concept that we too often want to fly away from it all and not be just another part of all there is in the world.



Connection: Today is always a day of liberation and new life. Many powers and people may try to stand in the way of such Good News freedom but in the end they cannot for we know that in the end…they have no power. The victory has been won for all time.



Victorious Lord, you reach out to bring us into your glorious Reign and share the richness of the simplicity of your life. We give you thanks for making all the power of creation available to us as we walk through the events of this day so that we may always be pulled to you alone. Amen.