Hey all, the Sunday School lesson for tomorrow comes from Mark 10:17-31. Its titled "Simple Faith" The lesson begins in verse 17, where Jesus and His disciples were traveling to Jerusalem, then a man came running up, knelt down to Jesus and asked "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" To answer the man's question Jesus says in verse 19 "You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not cheat others,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother." In verse 20 the man then mentions how he has obeyed these commandments since his youth. Jesus then looks at the man and felt genuine love for him. He said "There is still one thing you haven't done, Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow me." Verse 22 says "at this the man's face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions." - Reading this, I found it fascinating once again, Jesus knew this man knew God's commandments; He even knew that the man's wealth and riches were holding him back from following Him. Jesus poses the statement to His disciples "How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!" - To deeply analyze and put into perspective, the riches described in this lesson represent what people today often put their faith and trust in OVER God. It may very well be money, but it could also be our time, careers, education, convenience, weapons, and even other people. To not misinterpret this, we should seek to be rich with God's favor, whatever it takes to please Him! and if we are blessed with wealth, time, careers, and education, we should then use it to bless and serve others; we should be willing to give it all up if required, but that's not always easy. Here we find encouragement in verse 27-31 "...Everything is possible with God." Then Peter said "We've given up everything to follow you" "Yes," Jesus replied, "and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or father or children or property , for my sake and for the Gospel will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property - along with persecutions." Pause, to reiterate, Jesus is saying once we let go of whats hindering us from following Him, God will provide and give us more than what we need to carry out His plan and purpose for our lives. Persecutions which for some of us could be, stepping out of our comfort zone, people disliking us, or moving to different locations. We are encouraged as verse 30 finishes "And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then."
Its remarkable to see how the Bible brings out that giving up our worldly desires and following Christ, although may not be easy, but it benefits us now and in the future. Let us not get to the point where we are like this rich man where we know of God, but we can't follow the example He set out through His Son Jesus. Let us not be stingy with our achievements, but serve and love as we are commanded. One humbling scripture that comes to mind is John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life"
As Christians we show we believe through our actions, which represents our faith, love, trust and service!
Thanks for reading - Keep Faith and God bless!
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