17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother. ”
20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
Hebrews 11:1-5
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
Isaiah 55:8-9
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Jesus was not interested in the rich young ruler's money. He wanted him to take his eyes off of what he could see and focus on what he could not see. His whole life had been based on what he could see - his actions, the approval of those around him, his money. Jesus wanted him to live by faith, not by sight.
Do not deny reality, but do not put your faith in that reality.
As we look around us we see many things that may cause us to fear, but we need to remember that our faith is in an unfailing God. It may not be as easy as it was but it will be profitable for you if you trust in God.
These are notes, quotes and paraphrases from our morning sermon at White Hill Church of the Brethren, preached by Jim Chappell
~ Linking Here ~
Thanks for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteSo much good stuff to ponder here. And my son Noah and I were just discussing the first passage as we weeded in the garden tonight -- he asked me straight up, "Why did Jesus say that rich people have a hard time entering Heaven?" Kids really know how to put it to you point-blank!
ReplyDelete@Rachel E.- Thank you for coming by and reading. :-)
ReplyDelete@Graceful - It's always been a hard question for me to answer, but I really appreciated out pastors explanation this morning.
Thanks for sharing. Great notes and food for thought. I love it when you said "As we look around us we see many things that may cause us to fear, but we need to remember that our faith is in an unfailing God. It may not be as easy as it was but it will be profitable for you if you trust in God." That is so true and something I am still working on...looking away from those things that we prevent me from moving forward and keeping my eyes on Him. Thanks for the reminder! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing these thoughts on the rich young ruler. That story has always fascinated me. Some have thought this indicates we should all sell everything we have and give it to the poor. Obviously that is not the meaning. If it was, we would all be poor. Trusting God is the important thing. Perfect love casts out fear is what the Bible tells us.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Charlotte
Thank you for sharing! Will you consider linking up for Brag on God Friday? Seems like it would be a good fit for you.
ReplyDelete