Living in the Spirit
August 6, 2022
Scripture Reading: Luke 12:32-40
‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. –Luke 12:32-34
My paternal grandmother died when I was five. While I remember her, I did not know her as an adult. For example, I did not know that it was forbidden for anyone to get into her purse but her. So forbidden that after her death the last purse she had was stored on a shelf at our house never to be opened for many years. I do not remember the details of the great opening, but I was present when we did open it and discovered it was filled mostly with the mundane items that most women might carry. It contained very old and dried-up lipstick for one, a handkerchief, paper tissues that did not exist then, a coin purse with a few cents in it, and so on. The one thing I did find that surprised me was an official mortgage using one cow as collateral rendered to buy groceries. There was more than one of these. They were all marked paid. They were written during the depression before public assistance or social security existed. My grandfather died suddenly and unexpectedly in 1928 when my dad was ten and became the breadwinner running the farm for the family with his younger brother. Her children were my grandmother’s treasure, and she took care of them in the best way she could. I did wonder why she kept those receipts for so many years. To remind her of the hard times, maybe. I am glad I broke her rule and opened the purse. It shed a lot of light on a grandmother I barely knew.
God cares for each and all of us and we are God’s treasures. We must never forget that as we return God’s love through our lives.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for those who love us as you love them. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.