Running Out of Time
by Gene Easley
"And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:16-21).
This parable in the 12th chapter of Luke’s Gospel is called the Parable of the Rich Fool. As it turns out when we read the end of the story, the man wasn’t rich at all. All he had was a lot of money and a lot of things. Where true riches mattered, he was bankrupt. He wasn’t rich toward God. Greed, selfishness, and earthly pursuits had corrupted the rich man’s value system. He had left God out.
This man also had another problem. God said, "…this night thy soul shall be required of thee." He was running out of time. He had everything else, but he was running out of time.
He thought his biggest problem was that he was running out of space to put his goods. But, in fact, his biggest problem was that he was running out of time to make things right with God.
He thought his problem was a good problem. He just had to do something about it. Tear down the old inadequate barns and build new bigger and better ones. He had the money to do it and the solution was simple. It felt good to know how good the future looked.
Everyone wants to be prosperous. Not many would choose poverty. I have seen enough people living in dire poverty to know the misery it brings. Prosperity can be a blessing unless it causes a person to forget God. Once it turns into greed and selfishness and spiritual complacency, being prosperous has stopped being a blessing.
Jesus’ admonition was, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth." Instead, he says, "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:19-20). Nowadays we have many investment experts. But Jesus was the only true investment expert. He told us to make our investments on the other side.
He asked the man, "Whose shall these things be?" His children will put them in a garage sale or estate sale and sell it all for 50 cents a piece or at least for a small percentage of its true value. But it really wouldn’t make any difference, because he has already lost it all. All he has is what he has stored on the other side, which apparently was nothing.
He was counting on many years ahead to sit back and freely indulge in all his bounty. But his time ran out. The question isn’t, "What am I going to do for God tomorrow?" There may be no tomorrow. Today is the time for new dedications.
The rich man may not have been a crooked man. He may have gained all his wealth through legitimate means. I doubt that to be the case because when you leave God out of your life, you will find yourself going down many wrong paths. And he had laid up his treasures just for himself and was not rich toward God. He said he would eat, drink and be merry. He could have a party every night, enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season. It didn’t seem to enter his mind that time was running out.
He probably thought he would have plenty of time to take care of spiritual things. But time was running out. We have no assurance of tomorrow. We need to be ready today. James said, "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away" (James 4:14). What are we planning to do with our time?
The People of Noah’s Day (Genesis 6)
Noah was a preacher of righteousness. The way many interpret the Scriptures, Noah apparently warned the people for some 120 years that the great flood was coming. God would judge the world for its sin. But no one would listen to Noah. Then one day time ran out. "And the LORD said My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years" (Genesis 6:3).
"And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them" (Genesis 6:5-7).
I don’t know how he preached. But he found an audience. Probably it was in the market place. He evidently never got a following. The people would not believe and take heed. They apparently were not a willing audience. No doubt, the people were hearing his message, because that is how God works. God always gives people an opportunity to repent. Noah did not have the privilege of seeing a great revival with the multitudes flocking in to repent of their sins and to turn to God. It just didn’t happen. He preached for 120 years to a people who refused to open their hearts.
In Noah’s day, ten years went by, and he had no converts. Then 20, 80, 100 and still no converts. How could he keep preaching? Because he was preaching God’s Word and not his own. They continued to live in ungodliness. But Noah kept preaching. Their life span was 900 years or so. Methuselah died at 969 years of age in the year of the flood. The people must have felt that they would live forever. But one day time ran out.
One hundred and twenty years came to a close. Maybe some woke up that morning and they said, "I don’t see any rain clouds today." They laughed and mocked Noah for being so narrow-minded. But God told Noah to get the animals inside the ark. And his family got in, too. Then God shut the door, and time ran out. They could come and beat on the door. They could scream. They could plead, but to no avail. Time had run out.
