Mark 10 (NIV)
5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied.
15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.
24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
Jesus once again sets the bar a little higher. He explains that the law is less restrictive than what God actually intended for us because our hearts were hard and we can’t live up to the high standards of God. He shows that no one is worthy of being called Good except God alone. People need to die to self, become child like, to receive God’s Kingdom. Jesus once again pointed out the difficulty of finding God’s Kingdom when you are chasing after wealth and material things. It left his disciples (Jesus referred to them as children) feeling like it was probably impossible to find access to the Kingdom. Jesus points out that it would be impossible for us but God can make it work. It’s good to know that God has a plan.
I’ve spent my entire adult life trying to get ahead, trying to make more money, trying to collect more stuff. I’ve been so caught up in what I could accomplish, that I pushed God into the periphery of my life. My heart was hard. I didn’t even try to involve God in my daily living. The Kingdom was far away from me. Life got difficult, God lead me back to the one who is Good. I work daily on becoming child like. The Kingdom no longer feels so far away. Praise God that he has a plan for us! Praise God that he made a way for us to be saved! Praise God for JESUS!
Prayer:
Father thank you for the wonderful works you do in my life. Thank you for the plan you have for my life. Thank you for providing a way for me to have access to your Kingdom. Thank you for allowing me to know your Son. Help me to seek You constantly. Continue to show me your love, grace, and mercy, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Ed (edsorrell)
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Loved your post!! The first verse is the one that hit me today as well. What struck me most at first was the way that Jesus said “Moses wrote you that law”, instead of “God gave you this law”. What an important difference!!!
In any case, I am right there with you with so many of the thoughts you shared. In fact, today I called in sick becasue I just feel crummy, like I might be coming down with something. Normally I’d just drag myself out the door but today I just stayed home. This gave me time to spend with today’s reading, and I had many of the same thoughts! Just recently I wrote about God’s gift of the sabbath, and later I was thinking this day of quiet is just what I needed. I read your post at noon, and it was like you wrote it just for me today. It is amazing how God works sometimes. Well okay, most of the time! (I’d say all of the time because I know that’s the right answer but occasionally I honestly don’t feel like it’s amazing (in a good way) at all, at least deep down in my soul… But maybe that will change one day…)
Sue,
I so know what you mean… It is awesome when we feel the power of God working on/in our lives but some days it feels like he is missing. I’ve recently changed my life and now make a daily effort to seek him. I still miss on some days but I am having more and more days, where it is obvious that he is in my life. I’m glad I was able to help today.