6-25-19 Today in the Word

THE RICH YOUNG MAN CHOSE THE WRONG TREASURE
Tuesday, June 25, 2019 | Luke 18:18–30

The plot of the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade centers around a quest for the Holy Grail, the cup Christ drank from at the Last Supper. During the movie's climax, a character named Donovan (one of the bad guys) must choose the real cup from a table filled with fakes. It's a test of his worthiness to find the Grail--and he fails it. As a result, his body disintegrates to dust and he dies.
Choosing what to treasure has eternal consequences. In today’s reading, a rich young man chose poorly. He came to Jesus to ask, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (v. 18). Jesus responded that he would need to keep the commandments perfectly (v. 20). He knew salvation is by grace alone, not works. He knew keeping the commandments perfectly is impossible. So why did Jesus say this? In order to expose the man’s deeper spiritual problem.
When the young man claimed to have done so (v. 21), Jesus put his works to the test. He challenged him to sell all his possessions and follow Him (v. 22). The deeper question here was: What did the man truly value most?
As it turned out, he valued his material riches above “treasure in heaven” (v. 23). He chose wrongly. In practice, he loved and trusted in his money more than he loved and trusted in God. If he couldn’t obey the greatest commandment, how could he claim to have obeyed the others?
In the rest of the passage, Jesus taught His disciples what we’ve already studied—how money competes for our spiritual allegiance and how the love of money tempts us to turn away from the Lord (vv. 24–27). The good news is that those who choose correctly in this area will gain an eternal reward (vv. 28–30).
APPLY THE WORD
The short poem “Wealth” by American writer Langston Hughes affirms the futility of trusting in riches. It concludes:
“Halos of kindness
Brighter shine
Than crowns of gold,
And brighter
Than rich diamonds
Sparkles
The simple dew
Of love.”
If you wish, look up the rest of this poem and ponder its simple yet profound insights.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9-17-23 Not in a Billion Years

Not In A Million Billion Years :: By Dave Hubley Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles (There is a special message at the end of this article for those who might happen to read this and do not have Jesus in their life and are looking for peace and a way to better understand the present-day insanity and confusion.) Several years ago, I had a conversation with a guy in a waiting room while getting an oil change (in the car, not me). I don’t recall exactly how the conversation originated or how it progressed, but I have never forgotten it. As I recall, it had something to do with evolution and an article that was contained in a “waiting room magazine” that was available there. He made the observation that God was “something that man had made up.” I can’t recall the exact reason he used to justify his opinion, but it had something to do with the usual reasons people give: Weak-willed people needing a crutch, and blah, blah, blah. I engaged him in a “witness,
Read more

9-16-23 Santa Staleness

Santa Staleness :: By Edwin Tan Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles My one and only trip to Israel had more than a profound effect on my present-day psyche. It might have been three decades ago, but there is more than a lingering aftertaste. It happened smack in the last fortnight of the year. Surprisingly absent were the familiar sights and sounds of the Christmas most people are accustomed to. Hardly any Christmas decorations in downtown Tel Aviv, if not any of the shopping thoroughfares across the Holy Land. Hanukah was a breath of fresh air – not anything resembling a Christmas carol most people grew up with did surface. The Christmas Eve service in a small Protestant church not far away from Jerusalem’s Old City was awesome; songs that truly celebrated the virgin birth of our Lord, which though seemingly unheard of, were a welcome inspiration to many a soul. There was even one sung in Arabic! So it began, my overt disdain for the secular Christmas t
Read more

9-15-23 Miracles 2

Miracles 2 :: By Jim Towers Published on: December 21, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles This story is a continuation of the exciting things God continues doing in my life. I was supposed to have died a while back, and sometimes I feel as though I may do so soon. But since I’m ready to meet my maker, I have no fear of death. In fact, my evangelistic zeal has only increased, especially as I see the fast approaching of the “Tribulation period” mentioned in the book of Revelation. Insofar as my acting career is concerned, I just finished filming a soliloquy featuring Melchior, one of the three Magi who followed the star to Christ lying in the manger, and am preparing to portray a Jewish Priest on stage. Like I said, God is working overtime in my life, and I will be appearing on stage singing Broadway show tunes sometime in March, so I have a lot of rehearsing to do. In the meantime, I will be signing Christmas carols acapella at a park here in Naples. Since it is a spontaneous th
Read more