He Knows

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

HE KNOWS

Mark 10:17-25

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: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do 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 a rich man to enter

NIV

Before we get into the concept of the deception of wealth, we should consider this idea of being good. We have said once in a message to the people of God, that we have never met a good person. We have, however, met many sinners saved by grace. Jesus makes it very clear that the one who is good is God alone. Although the man was correct when he called Jesus a good teacher, as Jesus is good because He is God in the flesh. Still, being in the flesh and subject to the limitations of the flesh, although he certainly demonstrated great divine power, including the authority to forgive sin, he still appeared to the people as a man, and not God. This is why Jesus made that distinction that only God is good. We have heard some Christians talk about being a “Good Christian” and that is simply against the words of Jesus, for he clearly said no man is good. We are either a Christian or we are not, but we cannot be a “Good Christian”, for only God is good all the time and all the time God is good. So let us be honest with ourselves and see the truth that we are but sinners saved by grace, and that as much effort as we can muster, we are still not going to be good, as we cannot be good enough, for we still fail, still falter, still sin, as much as we would want not to, for the spirit may be willing,, but the flesh is weak. A thought, an attitude that sneaks in, a misspoken word, or unintentional misdeed, or even a willful act, happens sometime in our daily lives. So let us not deceive ourselves into thinking we are a “Good Christian” just because we think we are doing good things, and not doing what we think are bad things. First of all, we are surely not doing all the good things there are to do, therefore we have already missed the mark, and cannot be considered good. Secondly, we cannot make sure we are not doing all the bad things, but only the short little list we have made up. Now as to the question this young man asked. What we also know is that Jesus did not answer him directly by just telling him to take up his cross and follow him, that he can inherit eternal life by accepting Jesus as the Messiah, that by faith in Jesus he would inherit eternal life, for we all are saved by grace, and not by works lest any of us should boast. But Jesus knew this man’s heart and although he did all the right things according to the law, his heart was not in the right place, as he still put his trust in his wealth. There is a great danger for anyone who puts their trust in the principles of this material world, who sees their income as their source for life. The word is very forthright regarding the fact we cannot serve both God and money. That is not to say we should all be poor, but Jesus tells this man to sell everything and give it all to the poor. That is a bit extreme, but he was making the point, showing his young man he had his priorities in the wrong place, being religious, doing all the right things, but still trusting in the world’s system for his life. He could not do both, trust in his money and follow Jesus to eternal life. We could continue about how difficult it is to gain eternal life when we put our faith in money to meet all our needs and wants, and we store up as much as we can for a day we may never see, for as that rich farmer, tonight our soul may be required of us. But we will leave that for now, and simply reassert our faith in Jesus, our trust in him, not just for eternal life, but for our life in the here and now. We reaffirm that we will always seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and we will believe, as He has promised, He will add all the other stuff, our needs, to our lives, as He knows the plans He has for us. He knows our needs according to His plan. He knows all He has in store for us, and where we need to live, work and worship. Just as He knew that young man’s heart, He knows our heart.