“Do I just have to be really good to go to heaven?”  This was the question of a six-year-old who came early to Sunday School one snowy morning.  She was a talker and I was a listener.  But my mind was also involved in organizing all the supplies I would need to teach kids about the love of Jesus.  As a teacher who prays for those who come to class you hear the Holy Spirit stop what you are doing to answer this question of the heart.  I stopped what I was doing while praying again, Lord, lead me with words she will understand. The conversation went something like this…

“Oh precious child, it’s not about doing all the right things or being as good as you think you can be. Getting to live in heaven is about loving God with all your heart, mind, and soul. We have all done wrong things so no one on earth is really good. Only God is good.”  At this point, her eyes grew big and round with wonder so I went on as the Spirit led…”

“Our Father God who lives in heaven love us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus down to earth to save us from feeling guilty for doing wrong things in a very special way.  Jesus came as a baby then grew to be a man who taught us how to live and love like God loves us.  Then this same Jesus willingly took the place of our punishment, even though He never did wrong things.  He paid for us.  He paid for all the wrong things all people have done.”

“But Jesus didn’t stay dead. God’s plan included life, not death!  God raised him from laying dead in that grave back to life again—forever!  Jesus walked around to prove to people He was alive again!  Incredible, right?!  And get this, Jesus still lives today.  He is smiling down on both of us as we talk about Him.  Yes, who believe that Jesus really died and rose again for us are grateful that He did.  To love Him for what He did for all of us is to ask Jesus to forgive us for those wrong things we have done and decide to be and do what Jesus teaches us.  When we say we’re sorry, forgive us, we will have a place in heaven.—Any questions?  She responded, ‘Nope, I believe Jesus.’”

There was more, but you get the idea.  It seemed time stood still as the Holy Spirit led this child to Jesus.  She prayed, ‘I’m sorry, I want to be and do what you want.’  Her last remark?  ‘I’ve been wanting to do this all my life.’” 

Luke 18, The Message

The Rich Official

¹⁸ One day one of the local officials asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to deserve eternal life?”

^19-20 Jesus said, “Why are you calling me good? No one is good—only God. You know the commandments, don’t you? No illicit sex, no killing, no stealing, no lying, honor your father and mother.”

²¹ He said, “I’ve kept them all for as long as I can remember.”

²² When Jesus heard that, he said, “Then there’s only one thing left to do: Sell everything you own and give it away to the poor. You will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²³ This was the last thing the official expected to hear. He was very rich and became terribly sad. He was holding on tight to a lot of things and not about to let them go.

^24-25 Seeing his reaction, Jesus said, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who have it all to enter God’s kingdom? I’d say it’s easier to thread a camel through a needle’s eye than get a rich person into God’s kingdom.”

²⁶ “Then who has any chance at all?” the others asked.

²⁷ “No chance at all,” Jesus said, “if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.”

²⁸ Peter tried to regain some initiative: “We left everything we owned and followed you, didn’t we?”

^29-30 “Yes,” said Jesus, “and you won’t regret it. No one who has sacrificed home, spouse, brothers and sisters, parents, children—whatever—will lose out. It will all come back multiplied many times over in your lifetime. And then the bonus of eternal life!”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We learn that is not so much about what we do, but first and foremost real life is about who we are and become in Jesus.  The “doing” comes after the “being.”

If what or who we are blocks our view of God, then we need to get rid of it.  This letting go, removal, putting down, losing our grip of what is holding us back from a holy, wonderful, loving, intimate, relentless relationship with God is a must. In fact, it is a matter of life or death!

Seek first the Kingdom of God, says Jesus.  Jesus walks the talk, showing and telling with His life on earth what should come to our minds first.  When God is first, we realize  God provides all we really need. Who (not what), we really need most is Jesus, the One and Only who died and rose again so that we who believe will not perish but have life eternal!  (John 3:16)

Jesus explains further…

“What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.”

“Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can’t go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bank robbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.” –Jesus, Luke 12:29-34, MSG

The rich man was seriously poor spiritually and we would guess relationally challenged as well.  His lifestyle of being rich and famous had a strong hold on him.  He just could not let go of his self-made power.  Jesus knew that. 

Jesus will ask us to let go of that which holds us back from a relationship with God. 

What is our response?  That’s for each one of us to ask Jesus to reveal to us today.

God says, “Be still and know that I am God,” Psalm 46:10, NIV

Pause and listen to His Holy Spirit right now as we break this down…

Be still means to let go of everything else so that we might know that He is God and will always be God.  We are not God.

Be still and know God means talking with Him and listen to what He says.

Be still. Let today’s agenda we create dissipate like a fog that soon fades away and we see the Light of day.

Be.  “Remain in Me and I will remain in you.” John 15:4  A promise that cannot be broken from Jesus.

This is the secret to being… “For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.” Colossians 1:27, NLT (Gentiles, translated as anyone not believing in God)

Being rich has nothing to do with how much money, line of credit, clothes, food, or cars.

Being rich has nothing to do with how good you are.

Being rich has everything to do with being a child of God who knows that God is God alone. 

Being rich has everything to do with believing that Jesus, God’s Son died for our sins and rose again to defeat death for all who believe.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16  That’s rich!

Epilogue of the Six-year-old

Every child who came into class was given the full story of what Jesus did for her.  Another child, after listening, turned to look at me and said…I want Jesus, too!  What a celebration we had as a class.  And I thought I could hear the angels in heaven singing praises along with us!

And that’s not all.  We were scheduled to sing as a group that morning to begin the worship service—but not before this six-year-old preached her first sermon on the benefits of becoming a child of God!  (Yeah, I’m tearing up remembering!)

A few months later, this same child would receive devasting news with her parents about a cancerous tumor growing rapidly in her leg.  Her leg would be amputated below the knee.  She became the most positive patient at children’s hospital who kept reminding her parents saying “It’s okay, Jesus is with me!”  The days after surgery meant many rounds of chemo and radiation, being too sick to eat. But Jesus in her gave her a sense of humor that made everyone laugh.  This little girl survived this ordeal, got a prosthetic leg, and lived her life “remaining in Jesus” with His promise to remain in her.

My greatest lesson from teaching:  I learned that praying for each student who enters the doors must come first before a word of teaching is uttered.  Secondly, we must listen for and yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  When He says it’s time, we obey.  

Lord,

I truly love to tell your story of your glory that is at work around us all the time.  You are God.  We are not.  When we know you, seek you first, and believe what you say we are made right with you.  Thank you for remaining in us as we remain in you.  You are all we need.

In Jesus Name, Amen