January 26, 2017 – Matt 19
Again, it is easier
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the
kingdom of God. Matt 19:24
Let nothing of this
life hinder us from pursuing the kingdom of God.
A friend shared with me over coffee his struggles to make worship
a priority. Between family obligations
and soccer schedules with the kids, he was not finding any time to attend
worship, and it was affecting his devotional life, marriage relationship and
personal growth. Asking for my advice, I
told him that he already knows the answer: he needed to say ‘no’ to the world’s
schedule and make Jesus first in his planner.
Knowing that was true, his response was classic: “It’s just not that
easy.” Little did he know that his
‘riches’ were creating the real problem.
Many read this story and think that the rich are people with
great wealth, far greater than the money they have. However, riches are often not about the
amount of money we have. Riches are
those worldly elements that make us want to attach ourselves to this life. In our culture, the riches show up in
hobbies, pleasures, time and toys. The
things that keep us from God these days tend to be sports, amusements and
enjoyments. That makes ALL of us
potentially rich people.
Simple truths are often not easy. Jesus made it clear that entering heaven is
simple, but not easy. We’re not just
accepting God’s forgiveness, we’re choosing to follow His Way. If the only entrance into paradise is thru a
small gate (which some translate the “eye of the needle” given in this
reference), or actually through the eye of a true needle, wouldn’t you do
anything required to find a way through it?
It may not be easy, but getting to the other side is necessary.
Consider this man’s problem.
What was being risked by making the change? Would it upset his family? Probably.
Would it risk disappointing his kids?
Likely. Would it sacrifice some
opportunities in their lives?
Maybe. But what was sacrificed by
not changing? Instead of his family
growing a relationship with God, they were grabbing the wealth of the
world. It may not be easy to change, but
the outcome is far worse than doing the hard things.
Loving God means letting NOTHING in this life hinder us from
pursuing the Kingdom of God. That means
doing the hard things sometimes – letting go of the pleasures and distractions
holding us back. It means believing that
God can do more through our example of faithfulness than we can in our
compromise. It may even mean we care
more about playing for God than playing for the local soccer team. Choose today to not let ANY wealth of this
world keep you from entering the gates of Jesus.
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