During a
visit to a local service club I was struck by the need for them to adhere to
the national criteria for projects and grants. If they don’t strictly follow
the rules, their project is thrown out of the competition. As believers we are
so into forgiveness, turning the other cheek, and not judging one another that
we sometimes forget that entrance into the kingdom has criteria that must be
followed. The rich young man, who expected to gain eternal life by doing good
things, wanted to make sure his bases were covered. Jesus responded, “Why do
you ask me about what is good? There is only One who is good. If you want to
enter life, obey the commandments.” (Matt 19:17 NIV).
1 comment:
Gail;
-----We can’t mistake this young rich man as being any other than ourselves. We all have riches we have not yet given away to go and follow Jesus. Otherwise, would we not all be roaming about the world doing nothing but preaching the gospel? If our eyes were truly opened to actually seeing all of the souls dying into hell around us, wouldn’t tending the spread of the gospel become the only thing we could think about? But instead, we are all blinded from this spectacle by our need to earn some food to eat, a place in which to eat it, and some clothes. And having that ability, we are not only rich, but we are captured by the process.
-----That thought used to bother me profoundly. But it didn’t bother me long. Logical is one of the first things God is. And the logistics of His Word says that our inability to be perfect is the beginning of His ability to be gracious. The young rich man could have gone home, having heard Jesus the first time and known that even though he was doing well his entrance into the kingdom was God’s charge.
-----Whenever getting into the kingdom is a bar to get over ourselves, it will always be raised too high. It is having been brought into the kingdom by God’s grace that begins to adjust our sensibilities towards our wealth. And if one’s desire is truly set on the kingdom, God will lower the bar just enough for one to get over it, then He will elevate one to the heights of his desires for the kingdom.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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