A Matter of Trust

Scripture: Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! 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." Mark 10:23-25

Observation: In explaining about what appears to be a warning against being rich, Jesus makes an important clarification that often goes unobserved. Jesus is not saying that wealth prevents access to God or forgiveness or eternal life. Jesus is not just focusing on an impossible metaphor like a camel passing through a needle. And Jesus is not being critical of rich people.

Jesus is saying this: To enter the kingdom of God, one must trust in God. Those who trust in their own means and thus themselves, are daily exhibiting a lack of faith by that misplaced trust.

Riches is only one form of self-sufficiency. In the case of this young man, there is an implication that, since he is young, his riches are an inheritance. Therefore, he trusts that that money is what protects him from any unplanned event or contingency. If anything goes wrong, he has money to fall back on. That includes ... if following Jesus doesn't work out as he hopes, he can always return to his money and be perfectly okay.

So to paraphrase Jesus' instruction to the young man, he is saying, "To receive eternal life, you must trust in me as your safety net. Get rid of your wealth, and then you will be dependent on only your faith in God and Messiah. And that is the way to eternal life."

Application: What are the worldly things I "trust" as my safety net? I know one thing for certain - I do not trust any part of my eternal life to anything other than God. However, it is true that I consider my wealth - my retirement funds, my savings, my home, and my ability to earn money - to provide for me as I grow old. I fully and completely acknowledge that ALL those things are given to me by God's grace ... that he has blessed me beyond what I deserve, and that my circumstances are by his hand and grace, and not of my own actions. I must not boast about myself, as I have achieved nothing.

I believe Jesus is my trust. My faith is in him as my Lord and savior, and in God as my loving father whose mercy and judgment is upon me. I might have ideas about the next 35 years of my life, but I trust God for those 35 years, and for the 10,000 more - and all eternity - to come.

Prayer: Abba, my dad in heaven, you are my provider. You have formed me, loved me, nurtured me, guided me, saved me, helped me, uplifted me, recovered me, restored me, and blessed me. All I have is yours, even to my own body. I place it all in your hands. You are my only safety net, and in you I happily trust knowing how secure I am in your hands. Amen, and amen.