Wednesday 24 Jul 2013

Wednesday Reading: Luke 18:18-22

Key Verse: Luke 18:22
22  Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

Devotion:
There are many people in our societies that we look up to because of all the good that they do and the comfort and joy they bring to others; oh to be more like some of them in that way. But when a person like this came to Jesus and asked how he should obtain eternal life, the answer he got was probably not what he was expecting! Jesus told him that he had been good and had followed the commandments as much as he could, but for one thing and that was to follow Christ. And not just to follow Christ but to keep God above everything in his own life.

That is the stumbling point for so many people in life – the need to keep God above everything in their lives. They do not seem to have any issue with giving things away, supporting others, loving others, but when it comes down to following Christ and being willing to give up everything for God alone, they stumble and fall short. God does not want to be second best in your life. He does not want to be second fiddle. No matter how you want to describe it, you need to keep God first and foremost in your life so that He gets pre-eminence in everything!

This man that approached Jesus was obviously wealthy and may well have been giving vast amounts to the poor and needy, but he still was looking to that wealth and holding it as more important in his life that God. That is not how it should be working. If God does want you to have loads of money so that you can give to the world, then He will allow you to have loads of money – as long as you give Him that all important primary position in your life. This does not mean that He will strip you of all your wealth or strip you of your position in society… it just means that you need to make sure that God is more important than any of those positions or things in your life!

We cannot serve a second master as well as serving God because there will come a point in time when we have to choose between the two; and unless you have already chosen Christ to be first, you may well give in to the world and leave God behind. That is when others will see you as a different person to whom you say you are; God has already seen that in your heart…

Points to Ponder:
What do you hold on to in your life?

Are you holding on to God?