“But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26 HCSB)
Wow! What a great lesson God has in store for us, today. Jesus spoke a truth that we all need to hear and understand. So lets look at the context in which He said what he said in today’s verse.
A wealthy young man, whose name is not mentioned, came up to Jesus and asked Him what He had to do to get to heaven. Jesus told the young man to keep all the commandments. The young man asked, “Which ones”, to which Jesus replied, “Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and mother; and love your neighbor as yourself (all the moral law).” Arrogantly, the young man told Jesus that he kept all those commandments and asked what else he had to do to get into heaven. Then Jesus told the young man,
“If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me (Matthew 19:21 HCSB).”
When the rich young man heard Jesus’ command he turned and walked away sad because he was very rich and did not want to give his riches up to follow Jesus. To him, money was his god. His faith and confidence was in his martial wealth, not in Jesus.
Then Jesus turns and says to His disciples:
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “I assure you: It will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven! Again I tell you, 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 (Matthew 19:23-24 HCSB).”
Let me explain what this means. It’s not because someone is rich that they cannot enter into heaven. It is because they believe that money is the answer to all their problems and they hoard it. Money has become their God, it’s what they live for every day. When the disciples heard what Jesus said, they were astonished and confused, so they asked Jesus who, then, could be saved. Jesus responded with today’s verse,
“But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26 HCSB).””
There are many thing that are out of our control, but there is nothing that’s out of God’s control. The salvation of our souls is one of those things. Money may be able to solve all kinds of problems, but our eternal destiny is one only God can solve, and He already did.
Our eternal destiny cannot be bought by any amount of money. Our lives, our souls, are much more valuable to God than mere money. There is no amount of money that can be printed by all the countries tries of the world that can equal the value of one life, one soul.
The salvation of our souls and destiny in heaven has already been bought and paid for in full. God loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to die on a cross as full payment for our sins, thus forgiving our sins. Jesus was then buried and three days later, He rose again from the dead in order to assure us eternal life in heaven.
Do you want to secure your place in heaven? Here’s how God says it can be done:
1. Recognize that you’re a sinner and thank Him for sending Jesus, His only Son, to die on the cross in order to pay the ultimate price for your sin (Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8) and raising Him from the dead in order to give you eternal life (John 3:16-18; John 11:25).
2. Tell Him that, at this moment, you willfully and intentionally choose to stop living your life in rebellion against Him and choose to start living your life as His disciple; that you commit to seeking Him, every day; following Him, every day; and that you will strive live in immediate, radical, costly obedience to Him and only Him, no matter the cost – even if it costs you your life (2 Corinthians 5:15; Romans 10:9-10). Then, do it.
This is the only way you can become God’s child (John 1:12) and experience the fullness of His love, goodness, joy, peace and perfect care. Do this right now!
If you didi this, please let me know in a comment below so that I can pray for you.
In Christ’s love,
Phil Covone
Phil Covone's Blog 