Hello Sweet Friends,
Today’s Reading … Matthew 20-22, Luke 18:15- Luke 19, Mark 11-12 and John 12
How do you respond to Christ, God’s greatest gift? We all know the correct answer, total surrender and gratitude. Instead of mindlessly settling for that, let’s take the time today to examine our hearts and be brave enough to face the truth. There are three distinct responses to Christ in our reading today:
1. The Rich Young Ruler:
“A ruler questioned Him, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him… ‘You know the commandments’…and he said, ‘All these things I have kept from my youth.’ When Jesus heard this He said to him, ‘One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor… and come, follow Me.’ But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich” (Luke 18:18-23 excerpts).
It appears that this young man had grown up knowing the Jewish Law and assuming that he had done enough, been good enough to earn acceptance into heaven. As a result, his heart was hardened to the reality of sacrificing everything to follow Jesus. We all know that no one can earn their way into heaven, it is only by the forgiveness of sins through Jesus that we receive eternal life. But, before we shrug off this response let’s dig a little deeper. Each of us, living in this affluent country, confident of shelter, food, clothing and so much more can relate to the lifestyle of the rich young ruler. We do not find ourselves calling out to Jesus to provide materially for us the way that Christians in third world countries are doing on a daily basis. Furthermore, those of us who have grown up in the church, can easily play the comparison game with the rest of the world and develop a false sense of righteousness. We can begin to fall into the same trap as this young man, deceiving ourselves into thinking that we are doing “well enough” to please God. That is an impossible feat. God is holy and we are sinners. The only bridge is total dependence on Jesus.
2. Zacchaeus:
“Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, ‘Behold Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house’” (Luke 19:8-9a).
Zacchaeus, like the rich young ruler did not lack any material possessions. He did however, recognize that he was a sinner in need of a Savior. Zacchaeus knew that he was not worthy of being in the presence of God. He was willing to sacrifice to draw closer to Jesus and to become the man that Jesus was calling him to be. Unlike the rich young ruler who went away sad, Zacchaeus left his encounter with Jesus redeemed.
3. The Widow:
“A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, ‘Truly I say to you this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury, for they put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.’” (Mark 12:42-44).
This precious woman had nothing. She did not know how she would provide for herself after she gave all that she had to Jesus. She knew that she needed Him to sustain her in every way, she was totally dependent and surrendered to His grace and care in her life. Her actions reflected the state of her heart.
Where do you land? I have to admit that all too often I fall in line with the rich young ruler. I am too comfortable in my own little world, my failing strength, my perception of control, to recognize my desperate need for Jesus. You see, in reality, we are all the poor widow. We are all destitute of spirit and totally dependent on Jesus for our next breath. He is the provider of our food, shelter and clothing and it is only in our arrogance that we believe it is our efforts that make us secure in this life or the next. Yes, He blesses our efforts, but it is all His and He simply allows us to enjoy the comforts that He enables us to obtain. The widow, in her poverty had the wisdom to see life as it really is. We are often too blinded by our wealth to grasp reality.
My prayer today is that when Jesus asks us for sacrifice, we would not go away sad. I pray that He would give us the wisdom to see life as it really is, all His. I pray that in response to Christ, God’s greatest gift, we would each give all that we have in surrender and gratitude for all that He is.
Love to you all,
Kinsee
“so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return empty, but accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it”(Isaiah 55:11).
