Good morning!
Text: Luke 16-18; Ecclesiastes 3
The demand Jesus makes of us is simple – surrender our lives to Him – everything – and be blessed. In Luke 18, Jesus encounters a rich ruler who asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. The man is a rule-follower ( good thing), but Jesus challenges his heart by telling him to sell all his stuff and to come and follow Jesus. The man’s heart is not ready for such a demand – he is very rich. Then Peter pipes up and tells Jesus that he and the other disciples left their homes to follow him. Jesus replies;
“Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Luke 18:29-30)
This is a profound spiritual reality. When Jesus offers us eternal life, it is a whole new life. To receive that new life, we must release the old one. When it comes to pain and sorrow and despair, that is easy. But leave behind home and family? Jesus is basically challenging this us to understand that the eternal life He offers us is vastly superior to even the best this life can offer. To inherit that life requires absolute surrender to Jesus’ lordship. And that means being willing to abandon all that matters in the life of the flesh. Are we willing to risk such a thing? To do so is to gain unimaginable treasure.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” – Jim Elliot, missionary and martyr.
in Him, Mike