Luke 18:24 tells us, "Jesus said to the rich young ruler, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God."
"Whoa, Nellie! "Does that mean if you are rich you cannot go to Heaven?" No, that is not what it means!
"In this teaching the words of Jesus are often taken to mean that very thing. However, Jesus really only said that it would be hard, not impossible. The reason it is hard is that when someone has acquired wealth it becomes a stumbling bock that causes the possessor to not want to yield it to God. Humanly we want to have the sense of security that we feel from a healthy bank account, good health, happy marriages, good children, fine jobs, freedom, etc.
"As long as we hold tightly to a life's desire for the "things of this world," God cannot enter in. We basically padlock the door to our hearts. Only when we can say to Jesus, "I came as a destitute sinner without merit," can Jesus begin to work in us.
"Lord Jesus, we thank you that we can set aside all our possessions as a gift from you and not have them under our control. If we argue, pry them out of our hands, Lord. Amen."
I hope we are in agreement about this, friends! We need the support of each other on this one!
Jo INMN
No comments:
Post a Comment