Luke 12:13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
I want to focus on verse 13 today. This morning when I read these verses, the similarity between Luke 12:13 and Luke 10:40 struck me. In the second, Martha essentially demands, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’ In today’s verse 13, a man demands Jesus have his brother divide an inheritance with him.
Luke 12:14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?”
How frustrating I imagine this must have been for Jesus. He is trying to give them eternal life, a straight path to God, and everyone wants Him to fix family squabbles, and not only that, it’s family squabbles about things that don’t matter, that aren’t eternally important. And it saddens me to realize that I am guilty of approaching “Jesus the Fixer,” too.
Luke 12:15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
Precious Savior, Thank You for allowing me to see these truths this morning. Help me to focus on You as the Lord of all Creation and not as the Squabble Fixer. Thank You for being both, for loving me when I tuck You into a certain niche and try to leave You there. But thank You even more for opening my eyes to issues and truths I totally overlook yet need to see clearly. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.
Luke 12:16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.
Have a blessed day.