Make A Little Security?

Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” Mark 10:23

Earthly riches: easy to preach against from the words of our Lord Jesus, popular to preach against because no one considers themselves rich. Seems like a win-win for the preacher. However, that same preacher needs a house, often provided by the church that takes in offerings to pay for the house. Those offerings consist of bits of other peoples riches. Some struggle with that monthly dilemma between wanting to give an offering and being short on the bills of the household. Others may have enough to ponder on where the dividing line might be between rich and not rich, so that they are not left out of the kingdom of God that Jesus will mention in the following verse (v24). For all the struggle and effort we put in to make a little security and not worry about riches, we sure seem to have much to worry over when it comes to riches! And then Jesus went and said to not worry over riches back in the big sermon. Aigh!

You and I are not alone in this. The disciples also were astonished at our Lord's statement. They probably looked to the rich young man with some envy as an example of success in this world. "Obeyed the commandments, got rich, if he can't get into the kingdom of God, who will?!!" they may have muttered among themselves. Actually, that's simply a dramatic version of the disciples' question, "Who then can be saved?" in verse 26. We do not have to worry over rich or not-rich though, but to come to the One who has possible firmly in hand. We will meet Him next time as we continue this story of the rich young ruler.

Love to you in Christ our Lord,

Bucky