Salvation Assured THE PERILS OF POSSESSIONS
For a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. Luke 12:15.
Jesus talked on Matthew 19 about the rich man, and presented His disciples with an insurmountable problem. They thought that a rich man must have been blessed by God in order to be rich, and that any rich man would be sure to make it into the kingdom of heaven. But in verses 23 to 26, Jesus said to 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 the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?" If a rich man can't make it, who's going to make it? But "Jesus beheld them"--He looked at them with kindness and patience--"and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."
Who was Jesus talking about? Only the rich who have the millions? Or was He talking about anyone who has anything that he will depend upon in place of God?
One time we discussed, with an academy group of young people, who would most likely be the best Christian on campus. And they said, If you're going to decide whether it's a fellow or a girl, it would most likely be a girl. Why? Well, girls need God more than the fellows do. Then we said, Suppose you take all the girls on campus, who would be the best Christian, the good-looking one or the not-so-good-looking one? Well, the one that's not so good-looking. And of all the not-so-good-looking girls, who would be the best Christian, the one with lots of talent and the 4.0 grade point average or the one with little talent and a 2.0 average? They finally decided, on that basis, that the worst Christian on campus would be the the-best-looking fellow with the T-Bird and the trumpet and the beautiful voice and the expensive wardrobe and the 4.0 average. Which said, actually, that as long as a person has something he can depend on instead of God, he tends to do just that.
With men it is impossible, but not with God. How thankful we can be for a God who is doing all He can to open our eyes as to where our real dependence lies, to show us our need of Him, regardless of our external success.
For a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. Luke 12:15.
Jesus talked on Matthew 19 about the rich man, and presented His disciples with an insurmountable problem. They thought that a rich man must have been blessed by God in order to be rich, and that any rich man would be sure to make it into the kingdom of heaven. But in verses 23 to 26, Jesus said to 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 the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?" If a rich man can't make it, who's going to make it? But "Jesus beheld them"--He looked at them with kindness and patience--"and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."
Who was Jesus talking about? Only the rich who have the millions? Or was He talking about anyone who has anything that he will depend upon in place of God?
One time we discussed, with an academy group of young people, who would most likely be the best Christian on campus. And they said, If you're going to decide whether it's a fellow or a girl, it would most likely be a girl. Why? Well, girls need God more than the fellows do. Then we said, Suppose you take all the girls on campus, who would be the best Christian, the good-looking one or the not-so-good-looking one? Well, the one that's not so good-looking. And of all the not-so-good-looking girls, who would be the best Christian, the one with lots of talent and the 4.0 grade point average or the one with little talent and a 2.0 average? They finally decided, on that basis, that the worst Christian on campus would be the the-best-looking fellow with the T-Bird and the trumpet and the beautiful voice and the expensive wardrobe and the 4.0 average. Which said, actually, that as long as a person has something he can depend on instead of God, he tends to do just that.
With men it is impossible, but not with God. How thankful we can be for a God who is doing all He can to open our eyes as to where our real dependence lies, to show us our need of Him, regardless of our external success.
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