While reading this Scripture few days ago, I was touched by the answer Jesus gave to the rich man in Matthew 19. I would be posting the Scripture here for emphasis.
Mat 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Mat 19:18 He saith unto him, Which. Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Mat 19:19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 19:20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Mat 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Mat 19:22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
Mat 19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Mat 19:25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
You have heard the story very often, so…? However I want to lay a very significant emphasis. Because many people after reading this Scripture claimed that Heaven is not for the Rich but for the poor. That to me is unconfirmed, and a lie from Satan or whatever will be making one say such.
So caution : Jesus never said a Rich man can’t enter the Kingdom of God. Remember the Rich Young man came to Jesus asking what He may do to gain eternal life. This probably meant that he must have some kind of doubt already within him. Doubts like “am I saved?”, “can I really make heaven?” and so on. So he came to Jesus for an answer to insanity. In some way he must have felt so incomplete. Even though he was physically complete. He needed something beyond His natural realm and the only man who could help him access such was God. Immediately he realized this, he came to Jesus and said “What must I do to gain eternal life”. This also means that he was bothered, though he had all things, yet he still felt incomplete.
However Jesus answered and said keep the commandment. This man immediately examined himself and quickly realized that he had kept all the laws of Moses since He was Young. Since he was a little boy. “all these things I have kept since I was a youth” he said. “what do I still lack? (There’s is still a lot of incompleteness in me, I still feel like I haven’t achieved anything).
Again Jesus looked at Him and said in vs 21 and 22. “Go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor… And follow me”. This is where we all get it wrong by saying Jesus forbids the Rich. No? The Bible makes us understand that those who seek first the Kingdom gets a thousand fold. This man for a long time have invested in himself, his business and nothing else. What Jesus was doing to him is called pruning or flesh mortification ( that’s my own term). The ability to mortify the flesh. That can only be done by subjecting your will, your intuitives and your emotions under the supremacy of heaven. There are a lot of times God will require you to stop something you love doing. This thing He’s telling you to uninstall from your life might be positive, it might even be helpful to you, It might have been without flaws. But when God speaks He echoes reality yet to come. God’s words are Prophetic; never forget. A man who understand the precepts of God will come under Lordship and in Obedience stay away from such things because he knows the consequences of disobedience. He understands that if God took it, God is, able, to replenish what he has taken in multiple folds.
It’s saddening how the rich man left the presence of God in sorrow because He felt he can’t do it. Anything you can’t give God can’t be replenished nor multiplied. Oh! Had he known that the thoughts of God are of good to those that love him. The rich man coveted Riches and influence. He wanted gain.
–Anything you can’t give God can’t be replenished nor multiplied!
Matthew 19…–There’s a law beyond time that can sustain both your natural realm (flesh) and your soulish realm (the heart) by keeping it under God’s grace. That law is known as dying to self.
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