10/11/18
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
Good teacher, what must I do? The rich man came to Jesus to seek assurance. What is pleasing to God? How do I receive the eternal life so frequently described in Scripture?
Aside from the rather obvious failing in the ich man’s thinking, that we do something to gain an inheritance, Jesus gives us practical clarity. The man wants to know how to live. Jesus tells him, drawing the commands directly from God’s Law.
The man is aware of all these commands. He knows what God says. He also knows that his obedience has not been adequate. He does not have assurance of life. What can he do?
Jesus tells him to give up all that he has in order to follow Jesus. This cuts to the heart of many of our trouble.s It was not so much about money. That is not the problem. The problem with this rich man was the focus of his trust. He was saying, in effect, “I trust you, Jesus, to be the Lord of all. Therefore I am going to cling to my own ways of caring for myself so as to be certain of safety.” That won’t work! Jesus calls the man to nothing more or less than trust. What he trusted before must be taken out of the way.
When Jesus calls us to follow Him, he calls us to leave behind our own opinions of what is rustworthy. In exchange, we take up Jesus’ provision which will never fail. That’s what trust looks like.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
Good teacher, what must I do? The rich man came to Jesus to seek assurance. What is pleasing to God? How do I receive the eternal life so frequently described in Scripture?
Aside from the rather obvious failing in the ich man’s thinking, that we do something to gain an inheritance, Jesus gives us practical clarity. The man wants to know how to live. Jesus tells him, drawing the commands directly from God’s Law.
The man is aware of all these commands. He knows what God says. He also knows that his obedience has not been adequate. He does not have assurance of life. What can he do?
Jesus tells him to give up all that he has in order to follow Jesus. This cuts to the heart of many of our trouble.s It was not so much about money. That is not the problem. The problem with this rich man was the focus of his trust. He was saying, in effect, “I trust you, Jesus, to be the Lord of all. Therefore I am going to cling to my own ways of caring for myself so as to be certain of safety.” That won’t work! Jesus calls the man to nothing more or less than trust. What he trusted before must be taken out of the way.
When Jesus calls us to follow Him, he calls us to leave behind our own opinions of what is rustworthy. In exchange, we take up Jesus’ provision which will never fail. That’s what trust looks like.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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