The Man Who Forgot God

"This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?"

— Luke 12:20

 

Here is the story of a man whose date with death came unexpectedly. He wasn't prepared. He was the man who forgot God.

Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink and be merry." ' But God said to him, "Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?" So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:16–20)

There are many commendable things about this man. He apparently was a hard working farmer. Jesus does not criticize his success. This man got up early. He spent time watching his crops. He worked hard. And he made a good living. His mistake was not success.

His mistake was that he failed to plan ahead. He had all his bases covered but the most important one of all: he had not considered eternity. He had forgotten God. And he died a fool because he died unprepared. It's important to know that heaven is a prepared place for prepared people.

Are you prepared?