JESUS SPEAKING
Jesus had just finished speaking to a rich man who had come to ask him a question; “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” The rich man claimed he had been faithful in keeping each of the ten commandments; still, Jesus told him he lacked one thing; he needed to sell all of his possessions and give the money to the poor; only then could he come and follow The Lord. This proposition was too much for the rich man to concede; causing him to leave under a cloud of sadness. The scripture below is what followed. Then Peter said, “See, we have left all and followed you.” So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life” (Luke 18: 29.)
INSPIRED THOUGHTS
Peter draws attention to the fact that he and his fellow believers had left everything to follow Jesus. Jesus responded by promising to replace what they had sacrificed, but in even greater abundance. And yet there was one stipulation placed upon the rewards; just giving things up wasn’t enough; the sacrifices had to be made for the sake of the kingdom of God. Jesus also identifies two kinds of rewards; those provided for them in the present time; during their lives upon the earth; and the rewards coming to them after their deaths (eternal life with God.)
Jesus presents us with a list of things that people commonly put before God. Some who were called, refused to sell their homes and go out into the ministry field with Jesus; their homes were the most important thing in their lives; for some it was their parents; for some, their brothers; for some, their wives, and for still others, it was their children. Life is full of priorities; and everyone has something in the top spot; and whatever is in that top spot set’s the limitations on every other valuable thing. Without fail, everyone serves the number one priority in their lives. [I once asked a man who claimed to be a believe in Jesus, how much time he spent brushing his teeth in the morning and the evening. Apparently, his daily tooth care comprised about 4-5 minutes. Then I asked him how much time he spent reading the bible; his response was “0.” I said, “Then it’s safe to say, that in your life, your teeth are more important than God?” Without coercion, he recognized the truthfulness of my statement. A person who spends a lifetime putting God off will, in the end, be put off by God.
Today, in our daily lives, God must come first. He has too become the number one priority, and everything must come in second. Yes, sacrifices are necessary to make this happen. Selling all our possessions is not necessarily what he is asking us to do; but he is asking us to put Him ahead of those possessions. If a man puts wealth into the place where God should be, he has too sacrifice his love for money; choosing instead, to replace it with a love for God. And yet, not everyone has placed wealth above God. Many have placed family, loved ones, children, time, possessions, freedom, recreation, sleep, drugs or alcohol, a job, a car, a house, land, education, etc. We can place God first if we are willing to release our grip on whatever it is we’re serving; only then can we truly serve Him.
“Lord Heavenly Father, help us to sacrifice those things that are preventing us from serving you. Give us the strength to place You first; and may we not be afraid to make changes in our lives. Please be the number one priority in our hearts; be the thing we love the most. We love You Father, and we look forward to Your coming Kingdom. We praise You, we thank You, and we love You, and we ask all of these things, according to Your will, in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.” God bless all of you!
Jesus Speaks 