Matthew 19:16-24 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
When this rich young ruler asked Jesus about the good thing he should do in order to have eternal life, Jesus first spoke to Him about the importance of keeping the commandments. No doubt, Jesus was in this context accepting the man’s answer of how he kept these commandments outwardly. But then Jesus addressed the issue of his heart. Scripture says that this man had great possessions. In reality, the great possessions had him. In other words, the kingdom of God operates in an entirely different realm than the natural, earthly, material kingdom. Its value system is different. Its “dictionary” of words is different. Until this man was ready and willing to see Jesus for Who He was, and receive Him as his greatest treasure, he would never enter the kingdom of God.
Beloved reader, if Jesus were talking to you, what might He identify as your great possessions? What is that thing or things that make it hard for you to possess the kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy? Every person needs to face the fact that even after we come to saving grace and faith in Christ, there is a battle of the kingdoms that begins to wage war deep inside. For God’s kingdom to govern my life, my kingdom or great possessions need to be forsaken before I can experience more of Jesus. Only Jesus can satisfy our deepest needs and desires. Great possessions are incapable of giving us eternal life. A person living for Jesus and the kingdom of God is a person that realizes that there is more to life than eating, and drinking, and all of the day-in and day-out activities of this life. Jesus IS the Great Possession. And when Jesus is your great possession, your life and happiness no longer revolves around the fleeting pleasures or possessions of this world, which are subject to change, but upon knowing Him and living for Him. Job was right: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21) “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 14:17) Jesus is The King of a kingdom that is not of this world. Selah
A sister in the Lord was listening to a back and forth between two men on opposite sides of today’s polarized political world. One gentleman REVERED an elected official while the other gentleman REBUKED him.
As the battle pressed on and indignation escalated, very softly the sister said: “His Kingdom is not of this world- why should it be ours?” Suddenly, our King’s peace reigned and the earthly political battle subsided.
Yes, we can point to the thou shalt’s and shalt not’s in our polarized earthly kingdom. We should never compromise on His truths. But ultimately, we are not good, only He is good. As Jesus told the rich young ruler “if thou wilt be perfect” then… Jesus knew exactly what was in the young man’s heart. There is none good but One. We may be tempted to go through the checklist of the good’s and bad’s but ultimately we will fail if we rely on our merits, works, and our flawed earthly kingdoms.
The eye of the needle is narrow and our trespasses are large. He provided us the Way to His Kingdom nailed on the cross since, like camels, we will never find the way through eyes of needles.
His Kingdom is not of this world- thank you Jesus for making it my future home.