Mark 10:17-31 (NRSV)
Read Mark 10:17-31 on biblegateway.com
Verse 17As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Verse 18Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. Verse 19You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'" Verse 20He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth." Verse 21Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." Verse 22When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Verse 23Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" Verse 24And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! Verse 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." Verse 26They were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then who can be saved?" Verse 27Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible."
Verse 28Peter began to say to him, "Look, we have left everything and followed you." Verse 29Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, Verse 30who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age-houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions-and in the age to come eternal life. Verse 31But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."
Devotion
Author Max Lucado once put it like this in envisioning what Jesus might say to this man: “What costs far more than you can pay? You don’t need a system, you need a Savior. You don’t need a resume, you need a redeemer ... God does not save us because of what we’ve done. Only a puny god could be bought with tithes. Only a temperamental god could be satisfied by our sacrifices. Only a heartless god would sell salvation to the highest bidders. Only a great God does for his children what they can’t do for themselves.” (Cast of Characters: Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God, by Max Lucado)
Like the rich man, our wealth can’t place us at the table of God. But the banquet has already been prepared for us. We simply need to sit at the table.
Prayer
God, we give thanks for your constant goodness. We thank you that in the face of our failure, you grant forgiveness. Give us the faith to respond to your goodness by sharing your love with others. Amen.