A Message From Our Kahu
“Treasures That Last”
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:34)
On Sunday, we took a look at Jesus’ parable in Luke, chapter 12, where a wealthy farmer had a harvest of such abundance that he tore down all of his barns and built brand new ones in order to store all of his grain that year. Since Luke painted a backdrop of peace for the story he told of Jesus’ life and teaching, we looked at the parable through the eyes of peace. In this context, Jesus didn’t condemn the farmer for his wealth or his success. However, he did condemn him for not sharing it with the poor and hungry, for amassing great wealth at the expense of others, for considering himself as the only actor in the story, and for the audacity of thinking that he could now determine what was required for the contentment of a soul.
At the end of the parable the man dies and ends up bringing nothing with him to his death and leaving nothing of value behind. The clear message is that we should spend as much time as possible during our lives creating things of value, things that bring great contentment to our souls and to the souls of others. There is nothing wrong with money, wealth of possessions. However, if those things are all that we have, then we are missing the whole point of life. Let us consider creating, building and sustaining things that will last long after we are gone, such as our relationships with loved ones, outreach to people living on the margins of society, our church community, other organizations that make a positive difference in the world. When these things are the focus of our lives, our souls are rich and the purpose of our lives is seen even for many, many years after we are gone.
So let us commit our lives to treasures that last!
Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana
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