Sunday 14 May 2017

May 14: Mark 10:17-22

Key Verse: Mark 10:20
And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”

Devotion:
All of us like to think we are good people and we will freely admit to all the good things we do; but owning up to the bad things we do is not on our list of things we want to share! The rich young ruler who came to Jesus to find out how he could gain access to heaven was looking for a promoted way of getting there. I’m sure he was used to having his own way because of the wealth and position he held in society.

When we are in an elevated position of our own making, we exercise a certain amount of pride in getting to that position. We want others to know just how we have managed to get there and boast about those facts. Jesus knew full well the young ruler would probably tell everyone just how good he was and how he was destined for heaven; but what Jesus did was confront Him will his own pride and told him to sell up everything and give the proceeds to the poor!

Was this Jesus’ way of saying that money is evil? No! Far from it. What He was saying was the young ruler was holding up the money as being more important than God. Anyone who is willing to hold up anything above God is not following the commandments given to us by God Himself! God requires we do not lift anything above Him otherwise we will be tempted to continue lifting that up instead of giving God the glory. How can we say we love God more than anything if we are showing the world we love our property more than God?

Jesus did not rebuke the man directly for loving money but rather gave the man a chance to turn away from the love of money and turn back to Him. It is only when we are willing to give up everything for God that we can move forward in our relationship with Him. Give God the glory for everything, including your money and other possessions. God wants us to be able to bless others with what He gives us; don’t hold back and don’t assume God will bow to your expectations!

Points to Ponder:
What do you love most in your life?

Will you give it up for God?