Today’s parable of the barns is unique to Luke.

This teaching can only be found in this Gospel.

And even though this parable can only be found in one of the four gospels the message here is both convicting and instructive.

In the parable Jesus argues for extreme reliance on God.

Jesus also teaches us here to place our trust in God and not in wealth.

It seems simple enough until one tries to put this into practice.

Our world operates around money.

It is kind of like this…

Have you ever seen the 1947 movie:  “It’s a Wonderful Life” starring James Stewart as George Bailey?

I can use the example of a Christmas movie in my sermon because my family and I just celebrated Christmas in July at home with some friends… so I have Christmas on my mind.

Anyway, at one point in the movie George Bailey is desperate for money since his Building and Loan business suddenly loses $8,000.

Today that would be like losing more than $100,000

Then in an answer to prayer George’s guardian angel, Clarence comes to visit him.

During a conversation that the two are having George asks his guardian angel, Clarence if he has any money.

Clarence responds with a laugh and he says, “No, where I come from, we don’t need any money,” to which George then says, “Well, it comes in handy down here.”

Yes, it does.

We simply cannot function in the world without money.

Jesus knows this and that is why he tells the kind of parable that he tells.

This parable is told by Jesus to teach us to direct our attention from money to God.

God is the source of all blessings and all good things.

Last week in my sermon I spoke about how we are to pray each day for our daily bread.

Daily bread being all that we need in life.

Martin Luther writes in his Large Catechism of instruction that the petition “daily bread” includes everything that belongs to our entire life in this world.

Luther went on to say in his Large Catechism that this would include not only our food, clothing, house, and health but also peace in our daily activities and peace with the people whom we live with and work with and interact with.

Luther is teaching us here that we are to ask God for all that we need and then to trust that God abundantly provides.

Jesus said in another Gospel in the Gospel of John that he came to bring abundant life.

Abundant life in this context means a life that exceeds one’s expectations.

In Christ one’s life is more meaningful and is richer, and fuller than one would even hope for.

This past week Evie and I both watched a movie together and after the movie was finished, we both said to each other that the movie was better than we thought it was going to be.

We had high hopes for the movie and we were hoping to see a good movie together and, in the end, the movie went even beyond our expectations of it.

This is how it is with Jesus.

The life he gives is of a higher level then what we can even imagine.

So, in going back to the parable, why would we place our hope and our trust in things of this world like building bigger barns when there is something much greater for us – which is a life of faith in Jesus.

What is true wealth is knowing God.

Neither wealth or poverty is a sign of our relationship with God rather what is a sign of our relationship with God is our trust in God and our faith in God’s ability to provide all that we need.

Although God gives and provides us with everything that we need even before we ask, God’s wish for us is that we would put our trust in him so that we would know that the gifts in life come from him.

And more than that… that we might come to know his great love for us.

In our lives we put Christ and his cross at the center of our daily living we do not put bigger barns at the center of our daily living.

This does not mean that we do not practice faithful stewardship with our finances and careful planning and saving but what it does mean is that our faith is more important than what we own.

A great depression can wipe out our savings, a flood can ruin our home, COVID can take away our ability to gather together but God’s gift of faith in Christ remains through it all.

As the Apostle Paul says in Romans:  “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or sword… for nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

May this promise from Scripture go with you this coming week.

Amen.