Luke 12:1-21

You Fool

My best friend in grammar school was Larry Case. We didn’t go to the same school but we attended the same small church and had a lot in common. It wasn’t until his family started attending the new church closer to home that we started seeing less of each other. We sort of reconnected in our 50’s and picked up right where we left off. Larry died suddenly a couple of months ago standing in his kitchen.

When I first came to Smyrna the church only had around 50 people. Not all of them could go in the direction I was leading. They really only voted me in because of my dad. Most of them left, though thankfully they stayed long enough to get us going and left on good terms. Now, the majority of them have gone on from this life.

Yesterday I told about a conversation that Margaret and I had with another couple. We were on vacation in Asheville, N.C. It was a nice start to the day. The day almost ended prematurely on the way back to Smyrna. It was raining and I was doing close to 70 on the interstate when the car hydroplaned. We went over into the median headed straight for the oncoming traffic. By God’s grace I managed to keep control of the car and get us back to the left shoulder of the road.

This isn’t about trying to scare anybody, but the older I get the more I realize that part of the deal is that we don’t stay in this life forever. Am I just learning that? No. But I am just realizing it more and more. And I’m good with that.

Proverbs has a lot to say about a fool and so does Ecclesiastes. The Psalmist makes it clear that one who says there is no God is a fool; however, there is only one time that the Lord Himself (in the first person) declares someone to be a fool. That is the one who only thinks about this life and makes no provision for eternity.