Parable on the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Luke 17:31–33

Luke 17:31-33 

English Standard Version 

  There's so much to try and hold onto!!!  There are often so many good things, and we want to hold them tightly in our hands, never letting go.  

  Do we trust God enough to put everything into his hands?  What we place there is ultimately preserved in a way that it cannot be if we hold onto it on our own.  Life is safe in God's hands.  

  It's a constant choice.  Everything we have is a gift from God.  We can offer it back to God, or we can try and keep it on our own.  

  How can we make each day, and whatever is in it, an offering to God?  How do we set out hearts on that mindset, so that we're aware of what a gift the good things are?  May we pray for an open mind and open heart and open hands, so that we treasure God's gifts while offering all of life back to God.

Luke 17:28–30

Luke 17:28-30 

English Standard Version 

  What occupied most of your time 10 years ago?  What about 20?  Jesus is being incredibly serious here -- he's challenging people to think about all the substitutes we use in life that grant us security, and he wants us to think about what grants us our deepest sense of security.  We use all sorts of things in different phases of life, but we ultimately learn that the things we often hold onto in life aren't ultimate things.  They can be good, even great, but we have to look at them, appreciate them, and then look beyond them to the One who is the giver of every good thing.  If you look to your job for affirmation that you're a smart and successful person, then what happens when you lose it?  Or you can look to your job as a gift and an opportunity to use the gifts that God gave you, and if the job goes away, you still have the gifts and can find other opportunities.  Which approach prepares us for change?  

  God alone is able to be an ultimate thing for us.  Only God will not fail us if we define our lives based on him.  May we choose wisely what the most important thing in our life is.

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