Ephesians 2:1-10 / Luke 12:13-21
Every now and then, we might find ourselves asking ourselves what is the meaning of our lives here on earth.
And depending on how we have been brought up and what values we were instilled with and what we are influenced with, we will have a variety of answers.
Answers like: to be happy; to be comfortable; to enjoy life; to be rich; to be successful, etc.,
How many of us can truly say that life is a journey of discovering God? Because many of us live our lives pursuing our physical and sensual desires and our own ideas.
That is because, as the 1st reading puts it, we were "following the ways of the world, obeying the ruler who governs the air, the spirit who is at work in the rebellious."
We were like the man in the gospel who had his own ideas about life and wanted Jesus to be his judge and arbitrator.
And Jesus tells us the parable of the foolish rich man who wanted to store up treasures on earth for his own enjoyment only to have his life taken back by God.
Certainly that tells us that we should be storing up eternal treasures in heaven instead of hoarding treasures here on earth.
Yet the 1st reading reminds us that we are a treasure in ourselves - we are God's work of art, created in Christ Jesus to live the good life as from the beginning He had meant it to be.
And that is the true meaning of our lives - to discover that we are the treasures of God and it is within us.