Did You Just See That?

Please read Luke 12:32-34.

Many years ago Tom and I were at the Reuben H. Fleet Aerospace Museum. We were wandering among the various exhibits. Once, when I turned my head I saw an image of Bugs Bunny, I looked again and saw no image of Bugs Bunny. I said to Tom, “Did you just see Bugs Bunny?” He of course jumped to the conclusion that I was losing my mind and said no he had not just seen Bugs Bunny. A few minutes later, I saw it again, I did a little 360 looking for the source of this image…nothing. I was a little afraid to mention it thinking that perhaps I had, indeed, “lost it”. A little while later, to my amazement, Tom said, “I just saw Popeye!” Aha! Maybe I’m not seeing things. We were on the hunt, seeking the source of these mysterious and fleeting visions. As it turned out, there were these non-descript poles located throughout the exhibit hall that would pulse red, LED lights at just the right frequency for your brain to detect various images. You would only see them if you turned your head at exactly the right time and even if you were to look directly at the poles you would just see a vertical line of tiny red lights…no image.

Today’s passage is a fleeting peek into the kingdom. Jesus is comparing and contrasting God’s economy with the world’s economy. He uses extreme language to make his point and goes straight to the heart of what most of us find at the top of our priority lists; our possessions. But this directive to sell our possessions and give to the poor comes on the heels of this statement, “do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” Please note the past tense form of the word “pleased”, if you are a believer, he has already given you his kingdom. This glimpse, peek, flash of heaven is meant to wrangle our minds to holy places. It is hard to imagine this world in any other terms than real-time Technicolor reality, but it is a mere shadow compared to the glory of heaven that awaits us. He is making our current reality relevant to our heavenly reality. Our worldly things wear out, get stolen, become obsolete and are exhausted. This will never happen in heaven. As per usual, this little morsel of scripture is not in fact about stuff, wealth, possessions; it is all about our hearts. Is your heart set on worldly things that are oh so temporary or on heavenly things that go on for an eternity?

I John 2:17 says, “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” That is the best news I have heard all day.

Jennie Kind