Luke 18:17-34

The Rich Man 18 Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: "Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?" 19 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked him. "Only God is truly good. 20 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.’"
21 The man replied, "I‘ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young." 22 When Jesus heard his answer, he said, "There is still one thing you haven‘t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 23 But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich. 24 When Jesus saw this, he said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!" 26 Those who heard this said, "Then who in the world can be saved?" 27 He replied, "What is impossible for people is possible with God." 28 Peter said, "We‘ve left our homes to follow you." 29 "Yes," Jesus replied, "and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, 30 will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come."Jesus Again Predicts His Death 31 Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus said, "Listen, we‘re going up to Jerusalem, where all the predictions of the prophets concerning the Son of Man will come true. 32 He will be handed over to the Romans, and he will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit upon. 33 They will flog him with a whip and kill him, but on the third day he will rise again." 34 But they didn‘t understand any of this. The significance of his words was hidden from them, and they failed to grasp what he was talking about.
Devotional
Jesus says in this passage that it is hard for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God, and at first I was thinking, well good thing I‘m not like Bill Gates then! But when I read this passage again, I am convicted because we do have many possessions here in the U.S. that are extreme luxuries elsewhere in the world. Notice though that Jesus did not say that it was impossible for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God, just very difficult. If you think about it, people who have more possessions have more to ‘lose’ in their minds. I think what Jesus wants to get across to us here in this passage though isn‘t to yell at us for having some nice things and tear us down because we live in a more privileged nation, but I think He wants us to think critically about what we do have and be able to let go of anything or everything if we‘re called to do so to serve Him. You see, the point of this story was that Jesus asked the man to sell everything he had and to follow Him. I don‘t think Jesus says that to everyone, but I think He does expect us to let go of the things He asks us to so that we can focus on serving Him and the people of this world better.
Prayer: Lord, please give me the strength and wisdom I need to know how to give things up to You. Help me to hear Your voice and what You‘re calling me to surrender to You today. Lord I want to follow You with all that I am and I don‘t want anything to get in the way, so help me remove those things that are getting in the way of me serving You with all of my heart.