8/18/2023

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 2. 5-6)

“Jesus answered, ‘I AM the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except [save by] through Me.’” (John 14.6)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Jesus responded to the Rich Young Ruler “There is one more thing you must do if you desire to be perfect.” Well, that is how Matthew records this vinette in Jesus’ ministry which he relates to the Jews as well as those Gentiles among them. Following this, we are introduced to the “eye of the needle” passage way into the true sense of discipleship. In Luke, the companion of Paul during his missionary journeys to the Gentiles as well as the Jews, we would hear, “[Having fulfilled your duty to those commandments which I have mentioned] You still lack one thing.” In both scenarios, we are directed to consider the lynchpin, or key, to receiving eternal life whether it is “inherited” or “given.” An inheritance is a gift bestowed by one person to another. It generally is not based on works but an understanding of undeniable relationship such as a father to his children. There are other relationships which are the recipients of an inheritance such as a friend to someone who had helped them or a charitable organization which the donor greatly identifies with. Regardless, there is some level of defined and elevated relationship which is carried on to the next generation as a legacy of provision and hope. When the Rich Young Ruler presents his request to Jesus, it is without question a spiritual yearning for describing how one’s relationship with God (his own) can be worthy of receiving the ultimate inheritance (eternal life.) When you ask someone today about the possibility of receiving an inheritance or leaving an inheritance, most thoughts are turned to something of monetary value which will establish them in the years to come on earth. Little thought is given to the aeons to come in Heaven. What concern we have for our “here and now” must pale in comparison to our consideration for the “there and then.” Jesus collapses all that with a key phrase within His own prayer life. He shared that key with His disciples saying “Our Father, holy is Your name everywhere, Your Kingdom come and Your Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Jesus promotes that stepping into the light of God’s word presented in the testimony of Jesus’ life on earth among us, confessing our sins and professing Him as Lord and Savior, opens the door of Heaven so that it spills out on earth. “We are walking in,” as one theologian has put it, “in the already but not yet.”

How can that be? How can we already enjoy some of that eternal life on earth as it will be in Heaven? Well, if our devotion to Jesus’ prayer is sincere, then we will seek to live out to the best of our ability God’s will. His will is the same yesterday, today and forever. His will is the same whether on earth, under the earth, above the earth, in Heaven or anywhere else that does not fall into those categories if it would indeed exist. And when we are seemingly unable regardless of our desire to do so (“the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak“), then it is by the Holy Spirit that we must live. How can all of this be? We are confronted with Matthew’s “…if you desire to be ‘perfect,’ then there is one more thing to do” and Luke’s “…having accomplished all that as you have claimed, there is one more thing do.” Notice, Luke does not promote a perfection as does Matthew’s remembrance of the moment. The Jewish sense of righteousness seems to hinge upon this “desire for perfection.” It is not something they could ever do or even be. It is the “talking point” of the Pharisees as they sought to bring the people of Israel into a place where the Temple would never be lost and destroyed by their enemies. While it seemed impossible and thus demanded the covering of sacrificial blood to accept the penalty and leave them temporarily “perfect,” it was still a desire and apparent requirement to be fully blessed by God. Even then, eternal life was far less about “life after death” than it was the legacy of one’s family name and line to continue until the day when the Messiah would come and make all things new and free from death. On the other hand, the Gentiles had no sense of perfection as a driving force. They desired to survive and live as good a life as possible driven by being looked upon by others as “having made it.” Imagine eternal life in the mind of a Gentile person as the freeing of one’s self from the confines of worldly achievement. Being truly free of “making it” would seem like heaven to them. Just living in peace and joy and the fellowship of friends and families while the enemy is kept at bay being out of sight as out of mind would be a worthy inheritance to pass on to the generations which would follow. No wonder the Gentiles, the poor, the outcast, the infirmed, the lost and others like them flocked to the gospel word presented by Jesus or because of Jesus. It would come to those of Jewish heritage as well as they identified less with their “line of descendency from Abraham” and more with their faith in God who can do all things.

To this end, we hear John’s recollection of Jesus speaking to His disciples and followers in the Upper Room, ‘I AM the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except [save by] through Me.’ For John’s reality it wasn’t about one more thing in order to be perfect (and thus be like God) nor one more thing to do (as if the options of God had a limit). For John, Jesus was the key to eternal life on earth as it would be in Heaven. Jesus was the critical mass of living in the here and now, the there and then as the already but not yet. And for the moment, I offer this portrayal of the key to eternal life with Jesus saying “I AM the narrow way, the strait truth and the only life which leads to the Father who gives all that is needed now and forever.” We can’t be perfect but Jesus can and was and is and always will be. We can’t exhaust all the myriad of options of things to do but we can do the one thing that matters most just as Jesus did. And we dare not lose the “key” element in Jesus’ response to the Rich Young Ruler with the “one thing you must do.” Yes, for the RYR, Jesus said “sell all you have and give it to the poor.” But, that is not all He said. He added, “Come, follow Me.” For each of us there is a critical mass of sacrifice we must offer in order to free us to follow Jesus. For Abraham it was Isaac. For David it was the son born of Bathsheba conceived in an extra-marital affair. For the one leper of ten on the road it was to stop and worship at Jesus’ feet. For the camel to pass through the “eye of the needle” it was to be unladen and drop to its knees. What it is for you is personal but what is truly required is the answer to the call “Come, follow Me.” It is the fulfillment of the Shema, the Wisdom of Solomon and the teaching of Jesus on the mount above Capernaum by the Bay which is key. That is “Trust in the Lord, love Him first and only, seek His righteousness and whatever else is needed shall be provided.” Believing in Jesus is the key to our spiritual success on earth as it is in Heaven. Living out these days regardless of the circumstances based on trusting God, believing Jesus is the Christ and leaning not on our own understanding of what makes for a “good” life is our calling. What “rewards” or “blessings” may follow are a part of the inheritance which the Father in Heaven gives us. It is up to Him and not us. What is up to us is holding fast to the key which unlocks the door of eternity with God for us and for others. There is only one key and it is Jesus Christ and Him alone.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN LIGHT OF GOD’S WORD:

Father, You have revealed Yourself to us best in Jesus the Christ. By Him and Him alone shall we gain the eternal life and our place in eternal rest, living for You always. Show us more and by Your Holy Spirit instruct us in the way we should go, the truth we should reveal and the life we shall live with you forever. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.