From the Kitchen Table
Victorious Living Day 19
And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For 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.” Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” Luke 18:18-30
This life of God is too big for my pockets. The rich young ruler thought he could merely fit God’s promises into his own life/pockets and go on his way. So often we think the Jesus life is about believing in, not believing on. And this Jesus life is way to big for our little pockets. Jesus said, “will not you receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” We can’t carry both His life and our life; His life is so big that we will need His help to live it. That’s why we must leave this life to live in His life. That’s why we must pick up our cross, lay down our lives, and die to ourselves. We must be willing to quit trusting in ourselves and trust in Him. We must be willing to trade our impossibilities for His possibilities. We must trade our religion for His relationship. Go and sell all that you have and come follow Jesus. Even His thoughts are too big for my head; it is something scary that will do something scary wonderful in our lives. Trust Him today!
From the Kitchen Table 