Daily Manna

Key Verse

“And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17).

TEXT — Mark 10:17-27

Message

Robert Arthington lived in a single room, cooked his own meals and shared his friendship with students who were in need. Yet he gave tremendous amounts of money during his lifetime to Christian missions. When he died, his estate was worth about five million dollars, which he willed to missions. Arthington was determined to make that kind of self-denial the pattern for his life.

From our text, a rich young man came to Jesus to ask what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus first gave him the basic requirements. He hastily concluded that he has met those conditions. Jesus knew what his problem was – his trust in riches. He then asked him to go sell all he had and follow him. A requirement the rich man was not able to meet.

We need to make the distinction here between being wealthy and trusting in wealth. Jesus did not condemn this man because of his riches. The problem here was his insatiable trust in wealth; to the extent that his riches became his idol. Anything we hold dear to our hearts or that is more valuable in our eyes than God becomes an idol. It could be money, property, our position or even self. Once we can abandon God in favour of a thing, that thing becomes more important than God in our lives and an idol to us.

We must not trust in riches like this young man, to the extent that we are willing to abandon faith in Christ and heaven in favour of an earthly, ephemeral thing. An end will come one day and everything we put our confidence upon shall be left behind. Our prayer today should be that the Lord will help us to give Him first place in our lives.

Thought for the day

True riches are found in God.

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• in one year
• 2 CHRONICLES 9 – 12