"13 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. 14 When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 16 Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.
17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. 19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’”
20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” 21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” 24 This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”
26 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. 27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”
Did you notice that this is another instance where Scripture tells us that Jesus became angry? I find that interesting. Anyway, like what Jesus taught in yesterday's texts, the Kingdom of God is very different from earthly kingdoms. Those who want to be be in His Kingdom have to become like children. There have been MANY interpretations as to what Jesus was talking about when He said this, but I'm not so sure that there might just be one answer/interpretation. I think more importantly though, is how a child trusts and is with his/her mom/dad. In the same way, we should be trusting God and relying on our Heavenly Father in all things. Secondly, Jesus encounters a rich man and the following exchange ended sadly for the man. I have to make notice what many people, for some reason misunderstand about what Jesus says to this man. Jesus is not saying that it is impossible for a rich person to enter into His Kingdom. Rather what He is saying, is that it is going to be difficult for such a person because he/she would be so susceptible to falling into idolatry by trusting in money rather than God. But despite the difficulty in that, Jesus still doesn't end with a depressing message. He encourages his disciples that even the rich have hope to enter into God's Kingdom because what's impossible for us to do on our own, is possible with God helping us. Pretty comforting and encouraging, huh? =)
"Father in Heaven, I pray that we would be faithful citizens of Your Kingdom. I pray for forgiveness when we fail You. May we seek You out each and every day, leading others to Your throne. May we understand more about You and about Your Kingdom so that we can be better Kingdom workers and share the beautiful and exciting truth/news with those around us each and every day who are not yet a part of it. Father we love You so much and thank You so much for Jesus! It's in Jesus' name that I pray, amen!"
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