DAILY BREAD READING (Published Daily by Our Daily Bread Ministries)
MARCH 26, 2026
READ: Luke 12 (Focus vs. 13-21)
MEMORY VERSE
“Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. Luke 12:15
BACKGROUND
Some years ago, artist Michael Landy counted up everything he owned, making a list of 7,227 possessions. What he did next was eye-opening. Setting up a factory in London’s busiest shopping district,
Landy publicly destroyed it all. Clothes, artwork, love letters, even his car, were broken down, placed on a conveyor belt, and fed into grinders. As consumers darted in and out of department stores nearby, Landy’s performance art asked, “Who are we without our possessions?”
It’s an important question because most of us buy things to define ourselves or secure our futures. Jesus told a parable about a man who horded his wealth and embraced a consumerist lifestyle.
“You have plenty of grain laid up for many years,” the man tells himself. “Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry” (Luke 12:19). But what was left when his life was “demanded” from him that night? Only God’s rebuke at having missed what’s most important (vv. 20-21).
It isn’t a sin to own things. Michael Landy still needed clothes. But when we’re tempted to find life and identity in what we own, Jesus reminds us that “life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (v. 15).
Who would you be without all your goods? Still a dearly loved child of God (Psalm 103:17; Ephesians 5:1). Out of this secure identity, we can be rich toward God and others.
Sheridan Voysey
INSIGHT
Luke’s gospel emphasizes God’s justice for the poor (1:52-53; 14:12-14). Luke describes a reversal in God’s kingdom, where the poor are blessed while the unjust wealthy are judged.
In Luke 16:19-31, for example, a rich man ignores a suffering beggar, but in death, their roles are reversed. Jesus’ parable in Luke 12:16-21 warns against greed (v. 15) through depicting a rich man who shows no concern for using material possessions justly.
In Jewish tradition, material abundance was considered something entrusted for the sake of others (see Proverbs 19:17; Deuteronomy 15:7-11). But the rich man thinks only of himself, as seen in his self-referential language (Luke 12:19).
He’s identified by God as a “fool” (v. 20). In contrast to the rich fool, those who know they’re loved by God are freed to invest in what truly lasts—God’s kingdom and the needs of others (vv. 32-34).
Monica La Rose
APPLICATION
What do your possessions say about you? What might being “rich toward God” (v. 21) mean for you?
PR’s (Pastor Richard) RE-EMPHASIS (From Today’s Post)
“Who would you be without all your goods? Still a dearly loved child of God… Out of this secure identity, we can be rich toward God and others…those who know they’re loved by God are freed to invest in what truly lasts—God’s kingdom and the needs of others.
PR’s TAKE
“When we allow people in our lives to define us or when we make up our own definition of who we are, we will be veering away from the Truth. The only One able to give us our identity is our Maker.” Sunshyne Gray
PRAYER
“Dear Father, please help me resist the lie that I am what I own, and live richly toward You and others instead.”
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“I AM REDEEMED…” Jessy
I am redeemed, bought with a price,
Jesus has changed my whole life.
If anybody asks you, just who I am,
Tell them I am redeemed.
Where there is hate, love now abides,
Where there was confusion, peace now reigns.
I’m a child, child of the King,
It’s all because I am redeemed.
I am redeemed, bought with a price,
Jesus has changed my whole life.
If anybody asks you, just who I am,
Tell them I am redeemed.
I’ll tell of His favor, I’ll tell of His love,
I’ll tell of His goodness to me.
He purchased my redemption with His own precious blood,
And from sin I’ve been set free.
I am redeemed, bought with a price…
There’s no shackles on me, I’m as free as I can be;
Because Jesus changed my life.
He died up on the cross,
That’s why I can tell the world that I am redeemed.
I am redeemed, bought with a price…
If you run across anybody that used to know me,
tell them I’m doing fine.
The last time that you saw me,
I was lifting up holy hands,
I’ll tell them I’ve been redeemed.
I am redeemed, bought with a price,
Jesus has changed my whole life.
If anybody asks you, just who I am,
Tell them I am redeemed.
