Knowing GodSample

Be rich toward God
by Rev. Mark Bartsch

When I was a little boy, my mother would ask me to help her to thread the needle on her sewing machine or to thread her hand-held needle. That could be a difficult task.

A man ran up to Jesus with a question. He asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

My answer might have been, “I cannot do anything to inherit eternal life. Jesus died on the cross for me. Jesus paid for my sins. Jesus did it all for me.”

Jesus said to him, “One thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”At this, the man’s face fell. He went away sad because he had great wealth. (Mark 10: 21-22)

Jesus knew this man, and he knew that this man did not trust in God, but he did trust in his great wealth.He knew that if he asked him to give his wealth away, his misplaced trust would be revealed. How hard it is for those who trust in their riches to enter the kingdom of God!

You and I struggle with our desire to give freely to the Lord and to his work. We see our bills and our expenses, and we wonder how much we are going to have left over.Will it please God if I give him leftovers?

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Neither the first part of Jesus’s statement nor the second part is possible. However, it illustrates a point.No matter how hard it would be to get that camel through the eye of a needle, it is impossible to get the one who trusts in riches to enter the kingdom of God.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for your wise words concerning earthly wealth. You have freely given yourself to us, and we pray that we respond to you in love with our gifts and our offerings. In your name, we pray. Amen.