A Daily Dose of Good News
Friday, October 8, 2021
Pastor Steve’s devotional is available online at https://youtu.be/C-C5BusPv6M
A printer-friendly version of this devotion is avaIlable at DDGN 20211008
You may dialog with Pastor Steve on this devotion at steve.wachtman@me.com
As [Jesus] was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’ ” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 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.” They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” (Mark 10:17-31)
Trusting through the Eye of a Needle
Easier for the camel to go through the eye of a needle
Than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Or anyone not good enough to keep all the commandments.
And since a camel cannot go through the eye of a needle,
That must mean no one, on their own, can make it into the Kingdom of God.
Accept with God for whom all things are possible
Including the way to eternal life as we trust and follow Jesus
Who leads us there.
For when we follow Jesus
Following all the commandments and keeping all the rules
Is not the way we make our own way into God’s kingdom.
The commandments are a way for us to show our trust in Jesus
Whose life, death and resurrection
Pull us through the eye of the needle into God’s Kingdom.
And Jesus even pulls the rich into God’s Kingdom
Those with many possessions
When they trust that all their possessions are really God’s possessions
To be used for the wellbeing of all and not only ourselves.
Rich people trusting Jesus can use their possessions for others
Confident that God will continue to provide enough for them too.
Let’s use our breath to think about that even more.
Breath is one place where all people are rich.
There is more than enough air to go around.
So all of us can breath a little in.
And we might even try to get a little more for ourselves
And breath in again and again and again
Until we can’t anymore and we let all go
Only to fill up with air once more.
And that’s really how we do it.
Breathing in and out again and again and again
Trusting that when we let go of the air we possess
God will provide enough air for us to breath in again.
Trust in God, who alone is good and for whom all things possible
Including our salvation by the grace of Christ. Amen
