I recently created a 14-day devotional booklet for my church called “Supplying Every Need.” We’re using it to prepare our church for its upcoming Stewardship Commitment Sunday on November 8. Over the next two weeks, I’ll post a devotional each day from the booklet.
Scripture: Luke 12:13-21
My dad died of cancer 20 years ago. For about a year, we knew the cancer would be terminal. Fortunately, God blessed us with a talented team of oncologists at Emory, along with the best resources of modern medicine, which enabled Dad to live most of that final year near full strength.
We both made the most of it. I saw him nearly every day. For the first time in Dad’s life, words like “I love you” and “I’m proud of you” flowed freely and easily from his lips. Every time he saw me—or Lisa, or anyone else in the family—he would make a point of telling us how much he loved us. On more than one occasion, he said: “I love you, Brent. You may get tired of hearing it, but I’m not going to get tired of telling you. And I’m going to keep on telling you because it’s true.”
What a gift that was for me! Knowing that his death was near enabled both of us to live with greater urgency, to rearrange our priorities, to focus on what’s most important.
Jesus tells this shocking parable to challenge us to live every day with this same urgency.
How would you live differently if you knew you only had a year to live? How would your priorities change? Who would you want to talk to, and what would you want to say? What changes would you make in your relationship with God? What’s stopping you from making these changes now?