Please have
the references side by side Mark
10:17,Matt 19:16, Luke 18:18, Matt 27:54
An incident noted in
Matthew , Mark and Luke be an eye opener
for many . Here, a certain(Young) man comes to Jesus with a desire . He wants to have eternal life. He was asked to follow the regulations
prescribed in the book of Moses ( Ex.
20: 3-17)Perhaps , the man may be a Jew . Jesus
was kind enough to narrate him from
the scripture .Jesus said “You
know the commandments: `Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do
not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother ……..”
Instantly, the man gave a reply . The man
said “ Teacher, all these I have kept
since I was a boy” . If any one had followed the ten commandments sincerely , that was quite
enough for one to gain eternal life . .Jesus
knew his heart “ One thing you lack”
,Jesus said “ Go and sell everything you have and give to the poor , and you will have
treasure in heaven . Then come,
follow me “ It was too hard for that man to grasp . He immediately departed from Jesus .
The very important thing Jesus stressed
was conditional . In order to have
eternal life, man has to discipline himself to God’s way . In most cases , people
try to live a life of their own.
·
Man can not live a life of his own . Of
course he can have the freedom to do so , but he can not strive for heaven without obeying God’s regulations.
·
One has to follow Jesus. From Genesis to Malachi the mystery of Christ was proclaimed and revealed . Jesus, himself said
“ I am the truth ,way and life .. .. John 14: 6
Those who were hearing ( disciples)Jesus were
really wondered at His words. It was something beyond their grasp. Perhaps ,
they must have thought, it is a sin to
have material possessions . Jesus replied them in a more convincing way. I tell
you the truth , it is hard for a rich man 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 man to enter the kingdom of
God”. On hearing Jesus statement they have astonished . Then they asked
a small question, “Who then can be saved ?” Jesus replied “With man it is
impossible, but with God everything is possible.
Dear brothers , if you have an earning in a
normal way , God is not against to it . You can be disciple of him .But for the
sake of earning material possession , if someone choose ministry as a profession ,it is a point to think off .
Joseph of Arimathea was Jesus’ disciple
. God can really show the
impossibilities of rules and rituals into possibilities through Grace. For One thing God is
particular about “Let…………. not the rich boast of his riches “ Jer 9:23,24
Cont.. Rules vs Grace .
No comments:
Post a Comment