Astronaut Farmer's Treasure

Psalm 49-1-9; Ecclesiastes 2:18, 22-23; Luke 12:13-21; Colossians 3:1-11

Central Baptist Church, Lowesville, VA

05 August 2007

We are a nation of collectors. Some collect antiques, some vehicles, some Pokémon cards, some larger toys like houses, land, or yachts. Others collect recognition, power, and influence. Whatever we define as our meaningful, there we invest resources of time, energy, and money. We use various means to protect our collections and make our treasures secure. More than our collections, we insure our health, vehicles, homes, and even our lives to provide a sense of security. Yet even our insurance policies do not cover things like “acts of war.” Do we place our security in things that can be taken from us? Is it all an exercise in vanity?

The Preacher of Ecclesiastes expressed many concerns, yet the overriding concern in today’s passage has to do with work. Many people will arise in the morning to go to work grudgingly. We toil and labor, more often than not, sensing that it is for the advancement of others—the IRS, the corporate office, the insurance industry, the tort system, or some powerful lobby group. From the perspective of enormous wealth, the Preacher recognized that even this would be for the enjoyment of another generation. How can we invest our time, energy, and resources in meaningful ways?

Charles Farmer[1] lived in pursuit of a dream. Space travel had been a consuming quest since his boyhood days. Failure to be accepted into the NASA program did not deter him from building a rocket and preparing all necessary for launch. He was sure that the experience would change his life and perspective on living. He also sought to give example to his children that dreams are worth pursuing, even against great obstacles. His life treasure was clear to all who knew him, especially his banker. Where is the treasure of my life, expressed through my resources?

As Farmer had a life focus, so today’s Psalm questions our life focus and foundational security. For many, a focus on wealth is security, yet life hangs in the balance wealth loses its primacy. It is no means to avoid death. When one faces issues of life’s end, the securities of this world fade. The pleasures of life pale before the issue of eternity and death. Confronting death calls for a fresh evaluation of one’s life and eternal security. When all is said and done, the question that matters is the security and foundation of life. Nothing else is worthy of our boasting, when life hangs in the balance. Do we base our security on what will never survive the grave?

Paul wrote believers in Colossae, reminding them they had already experienced death. In taking up the name of Christ Jesus as Lord, we assume death to life apart from Christ. Baptism is that symbol of renouncing all else to take on Christ Jesus as Lord. Buried with Christ, we begin a new life. In order to live anew, however, death must separate us from our prior living without Christ. We do not normally think of being raise with Christ as first of all dying, but this is exactly what Paul means. We have no valid claim to eternity with Christ Jesus if we are not living according to that new reality. When Paul says that Christ is our life, it is in Christ that our purpose and essence of living resides. He is the source of our new lease on life, as well as the direction and example for our living. Does it make sense to trust God with eternity, yet not trust God with daily living?

When Martin Luther was appointed a Bible professor, he decided it would be a good thing to actually read the Bible as a basis for teaching it. He had to search to find copies of all the books, as a full copy was not available to him. In the process of reading, he found several issues at odds with the teaching of the catholic church of his day. He could choose whether to follow the accepted teachings of the church, basing his life on the church’s authority, or follow Christ as revealed in the Bible. It was not a popular decision with the power brokers of the day. He elected to put his career and life at risk by making Christ his only treasure and Lord. He challenged the assumptions of the religious community publicly with the theses to be disputed in his classes. Luther set about to translate the Bible into the German spoken by the rank and file around him. This was not about his personal advancement, but the advancement of Christ Jesus. Will we advance Christ’s reign with the balance of our lives?

The rich man in Jesus’ parable made of wealth his security. While having financial security was a blessing many did not share, its security was incomplete. His wealth could guarantee food, shelter, clothing, and influence as long as it was not destroyed by flood, theft, or some other disaster. It could provide him with medical resources of the day. Wealth could not keep him alive, however, nor was it a substitute for relationship with God. He became a fool, not due to wealth, but due to an improper foundation for security.

Jesus told this parable not to accuse the wealthy, but as a warning regarding the security of our lives. It is only natural that we strive to provide a sense of security for our living. That is why we seek things like clean water, sanitation, safe food, good health care, education, insurance, safety enhancements for vehicles, warning labels of all sorts, and other things that make our lives seem more secure. It is easy to classify our society as consumed with issues of security, yet our attempts at security are never sufficient to make living a secure experience.

In the movie, Astronaut Farmer faced regulations and governmental agencies created to ensure security and preserve life. At times they were abused to protect government agencies, yet they speak to a preoccupation with preserving life as we know and expect it. It was not just government who attempted to distract Farmer from his dream and treasure. The tried and true secure ways of living were touted to him as the appropriate way to live. Such would supposedly grant greater security not only to himself, but also to his family and community.

Farmer took a risk. He placed his very life in jeopardy. He determined there was something of greater value than the security of the tried and true. He determined that there was greater meaning in life than bowing to the lower expectations of others. He chose to live and sacrifice for a higher aim, making space travel his greatest treasure. While he knew it might cost him his life, he sought a treasure he felt made it all worthwhile.

We are called to an even greater challenge than Farmer’s dream of space travel. Building a rocket, after all, depends on human efforts, skill, study, and detailed planning. We can look at the plans and assess their dependability and security. As Christians, however, we are called to make Christ Jesus our security. We are called to allow Christ to live in and through us as an all-consuming treasure. It is to find reflection in the investment of all our resources—our relationships, our time, our energy, and our finances. Are we truly living for the eternal goals of Christ, or for treasures of passing worth and inconsequential security?

—©2007 Christopher B. Harbin

¹ The Astronaut Farmer, Warner Bros. Pictures, Burbank, CA: 2006. http://www.theastronautfarmermovie.com.