ルカによる福音書12:31-34 Luke 12:31-34,
「ただ、神の国を求めなさい。そうすれば、これらのものは加えて与えられる」 （ルカ12:31）
「これらのもの」とは、少し前の29節に「あなたがたも、
それでは、「神の国を求める」とは一体どういうことなのでしょうか？私たちが礼拝でいつも祈る主の祈りの中には「御国をきたらせたまえ」という祈りがあります。この祈りが表していますように、神の国を求めるとは、終わりの日における神様の支配の完成が早く来るように祈り求めることだと解釈することができます。つまり、キリストの福音がすべての人に宣べ伝えられたのちに、キリストが最後の審判を行なって神様の支配が完成する日が早く来ますように、ということです。確かに、これは妥当な解釈です。しかし、32節にある「あなたがたの父は喜んで神の国をくださる」という御言葉や、33節にある「尽きることのない富を天に積みなさい」という御言葉から考えますと、この場合の「神の国」とは単なる神様の支配というよりは、神の国の完成によって与えられる永遠の命のことを指していると解釈するのが、より的を射ていると言えるでしょう。
16世紀のジュネーブで宗教改革をしたカルヴァンという人は、天に宝を積むことについて次のように解説をしています 「この世の子らが現世の生の喜びをもたらすものの獲得に心を向けるの常とするように、信仰者らは、この生がたちまち夢のように消え失せるものであることを学んだのであるから、かれらが真実に享受したく願うものを、揺るがぬ生を生きるべき国に移さなければならない。」（渡辺信夫訳『キリスト教綱要』3篇18章6）
これはどういうことかと申しますと、クリスチャンでない一般の人々は、地上の生活の満足を追求するけれども、キリストを信じるクリスチャンは、地上の人生が夢のように消えていくことを知っているのだから、永遠に滅びることのない神の国における永遠の命を追求しなければならない、ということです。 （9月14日の説教より）
Some twenty-five years ago, a magazine featured photographs displaying the possessions of average households from four countries laid out before their homes. A family residing in a village two hours’ drive from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, possessed only livestock, farming implements, and tableware as their entire property. Their desires were “more livestock, a full set of spare clothes, better quality seeds, and farming tools.” A family living in a village in Vietnam possessed not only livestock and farming implements, but also bicycles, electric fans, and furniture. Their desired items were “a television, a radio, a new bed, and a motorbike.” In Northern Europe lies the island nation of Iceland. Covered in glaciers, its population density is less than one-hundredth that of Japan. Yet, living standards are high. A family of a 57-year-old husband, 42-year-old wife, and three children owned not only a house, furniture, and electrical appliances, but also two horses, two cars, two aeroplanes, a grand piano, and a cello. And what they wanted was “a four-wheel drive car.” Finally, a photograph appeared of a family living in a detached house an hour and a half from Tokyo, Japan. When everything inside the house was placed outside, all their daily necessities, furniture, and electrical appliances were laid out in rows. Their desired items were “a bigger house” and “property to rent to others.” Compared to the family in Iceland, another wealthy country, the stark difference was that their small house was crammed full of countless small items.
These four photographs demonstrated that people around the world have varying standards of living and desires at different levels. The Ethiopian people had the truly modest wish of owning a complete change of clothes. The Vietnamese family yearned for a more cultured life with a television and radio. And as for people in wealthy countries – were they so content they desired nothing more? Not quite. The Icelandic family, already owning two cars, wanted a four-wheel drive vehicle. The Japanese family, who owned a detached house, wished for a larger house. It becomes clear that the desire for greater material wealth knows no bounds. Many people live with the goal of achieving material desires. And there is an aspect to this that cannot simply be dismissed. No one would call the Ethiopian family’s wish for a complete change of clothes, or the Vietnamese family’s wish for a television and radio, greedy and dismiss it. One cannot help but hope that these wishes, made around 25 years ago, have now been fulfilled.
The extent to which each country’s economy has developed can be gauged to some degree by examining statistics. The Faculty of Economics at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands houses an economic research institute established in 1992: the Groningen Growth and Development Centre. This institute publishes statistics every few years showing how each country’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita has changed. According to the latest statistics, Ethiopia’s figure has increased approximately three times, from $772 in 2000 to $2,289 in 2022, while Vietnam’s has risen approximately 2.9 times, from $2,773 in 2000 to $8,050 in 2022. In contrast, Iceland saw only modest growth, rising from $33,108 to $42,146 (approximately 1.3 times), while Japan grew only from $33,211 to $38,269 (approximately 1.15 times). Countries that were poorer than wealthy countries have seen greater growth in their GDP per capita.
However, even in 2022, significant economic disparities remain: approximately 16.7 times between Japan and Ethiopia, and about 4.8 times between Japan and Vietnam. This figure is merely GDP divided by population; within each country, there are wealthy individuals with high incomes and poorer individuals with low incomes. Moreover, it is conceivable that the gap between the wealthy and the poor widens in countries with more developed economies. For instance, South Korea, which achieved economic growth of approximately 1.8 times – rising from $23,108 in 2000 to $41,321 in 2022 – and surpassed Japan in GDP per capita, is said to have seen an expansion in economic disparities among its people. The film “Parasite,” which depicts South Korea’s society of disparity and won the Academy Award for Best Picture and the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, is fictional. Yet it portrays the tragedy of disparity in an economically developed society through shocking video images.
Is it truly acceptable for each of us to live solely pursuing material wealth? Is the endless pursuit of material wealth truly the path human beings should walk? In verse 31 of today’s Bible passage, Christ said, “Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” “These things” refers to food and drink, as indicated by verse 29 just before: “Do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.” It also encompasses the various necessities of life represented by food and drink. Christ teaches us not to seek the material necessities of life, but first to “seek the kingdom of God.”
So, what exactly does it mean to “seek the kingdom of God”? In the Lord’s Prayer that we pray during Sunday worship, there is the petition: “Thy kingdom come.” As this prayer expresses, seeking the kingdom of God can be interpreted as praying earnestly for the swift arrival of the completion of God’s reign on the Last Day. That is, after the Gospel of Christ has been proclaimed to all people, may the day when Christ does the Last Judgement and God’s reign is completed come swiftly. Certainly, this is a valid interpretation. However, considering the words in verse 32, “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom,” and verse 33, “Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail,” it seems more accurate to interpret the “kingdom of God” here as referring not merely to God’s reign, but to the eternal life granted through the completion of the kingdom of God.
John Calvin, who led the Reformation in 16th-century Geneva, explained the concept of providing oneself with a treasure in heaven as follows.
As the children of the world are intent on providing those things which form the delight of the present life, so it is the duty of believers, after they have learned that this life will shortly pass away like a dream, to take care that those things which they would truly enjoy be transmitted thither where their entire life is to be spent. (Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 3, Chapter 18, Section 6)
What this means is this: while non-Christian people seek satisfaction in earthly life, Christians who believe in Christ, knowing that earthly life vanishes like a dream, must seek eternal life in the kingdom of God, which never perishes. So then, what becomes of this earthly life when one seeks eternal life in God’s kingdom? On one hand, as verse 31 states, “these things will be added to you,” it is promised that those who seek eternal life in the kingdom of God will also be given what is necessary for earthly life. However, on the other hand, as expressed in verse 32, “Fear not, little flock,” it is also shown that those who seek eternal life in the kingdom of God will remain “little flock,” that is, a minority, among the people of this world. The era of the New Testament was known as the “Pax Romana,” or “Roman Peace.” That is, it was a time when, under the rule of the Roman Empire, a vast region stretching from Europe to North Africa and the Middle East enjoyed stability and prosperity. Within this era of prosperity, Christians lived as a minority, enduring numerous persecutions while seeking not the world’s prosperity, but eternal life in the kingdom of God.
The New Testament teaches that Christians, as a minority awakened to the blessings of God’s kingdom, should live aiming for eternal life. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 5:5-8 the Apostle Paul teaches as follows.
For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
That is, we are taught not to live intoxicated by the prosperity of this world, but to live soberly, keeping our eyes open and aiming for eternal life.
To live soberly does not mean merely to economise and hoard money in this world. In verse 33 of today’s Bible passage, Christ teaches, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.” In other words, by sharing our earthly possessions with the poor, we accumulate a treasure in heaven. And unlike earthly wealth, the heavenly treasure never perishes. Calvin, shortly after the passage just quoted, states as follows.
If we think that heaven is our country, we should send our wealth thither rather than retain it here, where on our sudden departure it will be lost to us. But how shall we transmit it? By contributing to the necessities of the poor, the Lord imputing to himself whatever is given to them. Hence that excellent promise, ”He that hath pity on the poor lendeth to the Lord” (Proverbs 19:17; Matthew 25: 40).
Those who seek worldly material satisfaction do not consider sharing their wealth with the poor. For they believe that sharing diminishes their possessions and prevents them from achieving material fulfilment. Yet those who seek eternal life in heaven believe that by sharing their possessions with the poor, their heavenly treasure—eternal life—grows ever richer. Therefore, they gladly use their worldly wealth for this purpose, for even if their earthly possessions, like travel money, diminish, their treasure in heaven, their final destination, increases.
Here, those well-versed in Christian teachings might question: is it not strange to suggest that giving earthly possessions to the poor increases one’s heavenly treasure? Might this not be akin to the idea of works-based righteousness, suggesting humans can earn God’s blessing through their works? In other words, since God’s blessings should be freely given through faith, how can giving to the poor increase one’s heavenly treasure?
Regarding this question, it is best to consider it as follows: eternal life is not earned by human works, but is freely given by God’s grace to those who believe in Jesus Christ. The parable of the labourers in the vineyard, recorded in Matthew chapter 20, illustrates this well. Both those who worked from the early hours and those who began near sunset received the same wage from the master, regardless of the length of their labour. This signifies that God’s blessings are not earned by human merit, but are given through God’s grace and mercy. However, once a person is made a child of God and promised eternal life, by doing good works and entrusting those works to the merciful God, their status as a child of God is further confirmed, and they become able to inherit eternal life ever more abundantly. This does not mean that human good works constitute merit before God. Rather, it signifies that God, who knows our weakness, accepts even imperfect human good works and rewards them to encourage us. Therefore, if one uses their possessions for the sake of a poor neighbour, God accepts that good works and rewards them. Calvin says, “What we give to our brethren in the exercise of charity is a deposit with the Lord, who, as a faithful depositary, will ultimately restore it with abundant interest” (Institutes, in the same place as above).
For Christians living in wealthy countries within this world, a matter requiring deep reflection is: where do we place the trust of our treasure? In verses 34, Christ teaches, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Therefore, those who trust in the heavenly treasure have their hearts in heaven and thus attain unshakeable peace. But those who trust in earthly wealth have their hearts preoccupied with earthly matters and are perpetually unsettled, for earthly wealth are unstable. In biblical times, wealth was stored in barns, yet these were vulnerable to thieves. Moreover, costly garments were considered wealth, yet even when stored away, they risked being devoured by moths (verse 33). While methods of storing wealth differ in modern times, the instability of earthly wealth remains the same. Keeping cash in a drawer risks attracting burglars. Bank deposits cannot be deemed 100% secure beyond a certain threshold. Stocks and bonds may rise in value, yet they also risk falling or becoming worthless. Property values fluctuate with changes in the surrounding environment. Therefore, the hearts of those relying on earthly wealth become profoundly unstable. Many people in so-called developed countries, though wealthy, lack contentment or peace. Moreover, Christians living in these countries too may, like the general populace, become preoccupied with earthly wealth and forget to seek the heavenly treasure.
Let us walk our path considering how to increase our heavenly treasure, that is, to secure eternal life. Christ taught, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy,” but this is no easy matter. Yet, even if selling one’s possessions is not possible, one can certainly begin by using a portion of one’s wealth for the sake of the poor people living on this earth. To use the example mentioned at the start of today’s message: people in wealthy countries could refrain from buying more powerful cars or larger houses, and instead use that money for the benefit of people in poor countries. In our church, though modestly, we send offerings to Christian organisations engaged in international work, such as Japan International Food for the Hungry (JIFH). We wish to remember and continue supporting the activities of such organisations. Furthermore, there are people, like Dr. NAKAMURA Tetsu who was shot and killed in Afghanistan, who as a Christian had walked alongside and helped people in poor countries. We can also join in the work of supporting such individuals. By Christians in wealthy countries walking alongside Christians in poor countries, we can, as today’s Bible passage states, “Provide yourselves with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail.” To secure the heavenly treasure of eternal life, let us pray for God’s guidance, offer our earthly possessions, and walk this path.