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17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” 20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” 21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” 28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!” 29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Mark 10:17-31 NIV)
A blessed and joyous Monday to you, ConCafe Family! May you have a blessed first start of the work week and may you shine love on others from what you received during the weekend. May we continue in prayer for Sylvia, Hudson, Kenneth, and others who have asked prayers of us; and for your own personal needs lift them up to the Lord! A special request comes from the husband of Mrs. Eva Boscamp's 84 yr old niece in Los Angeles, CA. Mrs. Peggy Bailey is in a nursing care unit with some injuries and needs our prayers as they await a therapy that would help her. Also from another dear reader in San Antonio: "Please pray for Debi Duke, our church secretary. (NW Hills UMC) She had a blood infection and the Septis has damaged her heart. She is in cardiac ICU and had to have the paddles used on her yesterday. Pray for her and her husband Todd. Also pray for Lori Bush, a faithfulmhardworking Christian who has been fighting cancer for 2 years and now has to have another surgery.
We come to a well known story about Jesus and an encounter He had with a rich man. This man had his ear to the ground and had heard about this traveling rabbi who spoke of new things, and even, eternal things. This rich man, like many, may have had a fear of death and so talk about eternal life caught his attention. And he may have thought a lot about what that meant. His thoughts may have taken him to a world of eternal wealth and joy. And the reality was that the temporal joy he had here on earth was given to him from his parents or family. This is not to say he did not work but inheritance was a motivating factor in his life as he asks, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" (He also called Jesus, "Good teacher.") Jesus brushes off that comment and says quite frankly that only God is good. Then He reminds him of the commandments regarding murder, adultery, stealing, lying, defrauading others, and the importance of honoring father and mother. The man replies he has kept all of these. He might have been shocked to hear that Jesus knew him and tells him, "One thing you lack, go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." How you and I wish the man would have said, "I get it! And I'll go and do that right away!" His face fell and he went away sad, because he had a lot of money. Jesus then tells the disciples, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
Even today, so many do not "get it," choosing to seek after more immediate rewards or enjoyments of the worldly kind. We do give credit to this young man for having reached a decision to seek eternal life, but we stop short of any award or reward because he stopped short of the eternal reward. I would add that some believe that this may have been the man Joseph of Arimathea who asked for Jesus' body since he owned an unused tomb in which they buried the Lord for the three days. If that is the case, he still followed behind Jesus and kept his wealth though he used it for the ultimate good for Jesus as they wondered where to bury Him. We do know both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches have Joseph of Arimathea as a saint for his faith and the good work he did for Jesus. But the passage shows Jesus explaining the cost of discipleship. The disciples want to know if anyone could truly be saved after His statement about the camel and the needle, and Jesus replies that if it were solely a human endeavor, it would be impossible; "But not with God; all things are possible with God." Then Peter reminds Jesus of their having sacrificed everything, including having left families, businesses, friends, "everything to follow You!" Jesus calmly answers that whoever has left home or family or business, "will not fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields - along with persecutions - and in the age to come eternal life." And the closing, "But many who are first will be last, and the last first."
Gimme eternal life really means one must be all in or all out. Eternal life is not inherited but freely given to those who seek it and as a result of having received it, live a life that has rejoiced in all that comes with that gift. It truly is a life surrendered to Christ and living in an attitude of daily sacrifice to promote God's love and grace to all people.
PRAYER: Loving God, bless us with more faith to truly serve You. May our reward be the joy of seeing others come to faith in You and surrendering selfish earthly desires to the eternal ones where our eternal reward lies. Bless this dear reader to be a faithful disciple who serves all; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be the one who leads people to life!
Receive my blessings of peace and joy,
Pastor Eradio
