We Can Take Nothing With Us!

1 Timothy 6:7

For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.

I you ever heard the phrase – you can’t take it with you? This is usually a response to someone being tight or conservative with money. They are usually being encouraged to spend more – or to spend at all – because – you can’t take it with you!

In all of the years as a pastor and all of the funerals (40 years now) I’ve celebrated – I’ve never once seen a Brink’s truck or a U-Haul following the hearse to the cemetery. I know in the olden days – when Pharaohs or Kings would die – they would be buried with their riches. This was partly because they believed the Pharaoh or King would need their wealth in the afterlife or the next life.

King Tutankhamen (King Tut) for instance had a massive amount of wealth buried with him. On February 16 – 1923 – his sealed tomb was opened. Ancient Egyptians saw their pharaohs or kings as gods. They preserved their bodies after death. Many tombs were found and robbed.

Who Am I?

Exodus 3:11

But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”  NIV84

Have you ever wondered – who am I?  It was not uncommon in the 60’s and 70’s for young people to face confusion about who they were – what with the Vietnam war – peace rallies and then the aftermath of that war and decade.  Maybe every generation faces this question – who am I?  During the 60’s and 70’s a number of people I knew went out to find themselves.  For many this meant moving away from home – maybe going to California or Canada or somewhere where the rules of their present life didn’t apply.  Some went off to college and through this journey tried to find themselves.  For some it meant experimenting with life and at times drugs.  Communes were not uncommon – where people tried to live without constraints – trying to find themselves.

Today we can simply click an app and know exactly where we are at any given time (that was meant to be a funny!).  Where are you in your life’s journey?  If you asked the question who am I what would your answer be at this given moment?