 |
| Put your hands into his and let him lead you. |
In the book of Mathew we read of a conversation between a religious young wealthy man and Jesus Christ. The topic of their conversation was eternal life. We read,
Someone came to Jesus with this question: "Good Teacher, what good things must I do to have eternal life?" "Why call me Good. There is none good, but one," Jesus replied, "that is God." "But to answer your question, you can receive eternal life if you keep the commandments."
Which ones? asked the man. And Jesus replied, "'Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
The young man replied, "I have obeyed all these commandments. What else must I do?"
Jesus told him, "if you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor , and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard Jesus, he went away sadly because he had many possessions.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. I say it again, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God."
The disciples were astounded. "Then who in the world can be saved?" they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible." _ (Matthew 19:16-26)
There are
two ways to eternal life: one by
fully (in intent and deed) following the ten commandments of God
(Exodus 20:1-17) or two, as Christ mentioned to his disciples - with the
help of God or his
grace. But, he also showed the
futility of man to be in obedience to God's commandments of their own accord when he said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven.
Does God have anything against the wealthy? Absolutely not!
The young rich man who came to Christ, though he thought himself to be righteous, obedient to all of God's commandments given through Moses, was indeed not able to keep them, for he walked away sadly as it was hard to give up all his possessions and follow Christ.
Was Christ really asking him to give it all up and follow him? After all Christ knew people needed money to live. He himself appointed Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, in charge of the finances for himself and his disciples. Christ wanted to poke a little hole in the self-righteous bubble of this young man to show the real state of his heart. God did not occupy the foremost place in this young heart.
When we study the teachings of Christ in the book of Matthew, chapters 5 through 7, we realize that it is
impossible for man to be in
complete obedience to the ten commandments, for Christ taught that our thoughts and intents carried the same consequence as the deeds. He taught,
"You have heard that the law of Moses says, 'Do not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.' But I say, if you are angry with your brother, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the high council. And if you say "you fool" to someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.' (Matthew 5:21-22). With respect to
adultery, Jesus taught,
"You have heard that the law of Moses says, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:27-30). With respect to
money and possessions, he warned,
"where ever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be."
This is true with not just money and possessions, but whatever is your
first love, your
primary focus in life. Christ teaches us that the
first and most important command is to love your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your spirit and all your strength. And he said that it was equally important to love your neighbor (all those who live around you, that surround you in this world -
your fellow human beings!)
just as yourself. He teaches us that
all the other commandments and demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments. (Matthew 22:37-40). So you see, it's not so much wealth that trips you up, but what takes up your heart. What are your passions?
God created man and woman to love him of their own accord, and by loving him do what pleases him. He knew our weakness and so he sent his son, Jesus Christ, who is the sacrifice for our sins. Obedience to God in all walks of our lives, that which was humanly impossible, has been made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. By his grace we are made sufficient.
Apostle John writes in
1 John 2:1-2, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation (conciliation; the conciliatory sacrifice)
for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world." Apostle John addresses his audience as "little children"; was he referring to our helpless state when it comes to living a sinless life? All you have to do is realize your
littleness and need for his help. Call out to Jesus and he will help you because he has ransomed you and I with his life. We can do it through Christ! God bless you!!!
Third Day - Cry out to Jesus
