“Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?
And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
Then peter said lo, we have left all, and followed thee
And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake,
Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting”. – Luke 18:22-30
Every one that ever met with Jesus Christ seized the opportunity for an encounter. The woman of Samaria, Zacchaeus, the Centurion, blind Bartimaeus, and others all did except this certain ruler in Israel, probably a Pharisee who ran up to Jesus in the public to showcase his experience of scriptures and to boast of his proximity to God. He had his trust on something other than his creator– uncertain riches! His flag-off statement was “good master….” Jesus responded with the first scriptural arrow which sounded like a breakfast to him. I know this because he did not take time to reason it. He simply answered by saying he had been doing that from his early days of life, meaning; ‘Good master please don’t embarrass me’ ask me to do something better. At the end of the day it seemed the words of the good master were not good enough when he was instructed to sell off all his properties; distribute them to the poor and join the disciples. He could not bounce back because that which he greatly feared had come on him. He failed to activate his faith but rather magnified his fears and went away downcast. Note that he was not told to sell all that he had and bank the proceeds, but sell all and give to the poor. The words of Jesus Christ did not only completely shatter him, but threatened the disciples also.
He had spoken of how hard it is for rich men to enter into heaven. The comparison he made with needle and Carmel caused them to give up on prosperity in Christianity. This context made Prosperity and Heaven bound seemed to be enemies in their minds. Was that what Jesus meant?
This ruler and the disciples, just like many in the body of Christ did not understand the message of wealth as revealed in the divine plan for us that all things are possible with God, which means if you do not trust in your prosperity but in God and your prosperity is from him, you will make heaven.
The fear of kingdom wealth can be converted into faith in the God of all possibilities who has given us all thing richly to enjoy.
Prayers: Heavenly father, let your words cast out fear from my heart in Jesus Name.
Bro Favour Ejemi