Luke 18:18-23
Find a place and time free of distractions for the next 7-10 minutes. Take a moment to settle into your surroundings and then begin to recognize your breath. As you breathe in, call on the name of Jesus and become aware of his presence with you. As you breathe out, open your mind and heart to receive whatever Jesus has for you today.
Read Luke 18:18-23 imagining you are religious leader listening to Jesus’ answer to your question.
So far in this series of parables in Luke, Chapter 18, Jesus has taught that we are to pray persistently for justice, to humble ourselves before God realizing that only God can justify us, and to adopt the openness and vulnerability of children in order to experience God’s Kingdom – the nature of which is justice. Now we listen in as a wealthy and influential religious leader attempts to find justification for himself.
The title by which this man addresses Jesus is interesting because the word “good” has a broad meaning that indicates a person “without sin” or someone who “originated from God.” Jesus questions the man’s understanding of what he is saying about Jesus with this greeting - does he really believe that Jesus has come from God and is the perfect and sinless Messiah?
Stop to contemplate this question for yourself. Do you believe without a doubt that Jesus is “good?” How does your belief about Jesus affect the way you live each day.
Read Luke 18:18-23 again.
Jesus has a way of pinpointing the unyielded places in our inner worlds. For this influential leader, it is his wealth that hides in the shadows of his affections. If he really wants to find the key to eternal life, he will need to let go of this little god and entrust himself fully to Jesus.
Just as we learned from the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, we cannot be justified by checking all the boxes and performing our way into the graces of God. We must come to God in complete vulnerability and surrender to receive God’s overflowing mercy and grace.
If we truly believe that Jesus is God, and that Jesus is the perfect and sinless Messiah, we will be willing to lay down all our little gods and even our lives to follow him. This man could not, and Luke tells us that he walked away from Jesus in great sadness.
Become still and let all your thoughts settle. Breathe in the awareness of Jesus’ presence with you as you exhale any conflicted feelings or anxieties. Remain in silence as you listen to Jesus.
What do you sense Jesus saying to you today?
How will you respond?
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