Matthew 19:24 "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."
Jesus saying this stunned the disciples because in their belief system, the wealthy were for sure in because they could "pay" for their debts. I'm thinking culturally now. How can I relate this to today's current culture? What would it be in our current Christian culture that someone would say is your ticket into heaven? Do we have any misconceptions like that? I think we do, unfortunately. It can be in many forms, depending on whom you're talking to and where their passion lies. For some it is mission trips. If you do a mission trip, you are more Christian than someone who doesn't and you're in. For some it is how much service/volunteer work that makes you more Christian. For others, it is the way in which you live outwardly Christian by book buying, movie going, music listening, church going, Sunday School teaching, and worship team singing. Tidy life means tidy soul??? And yet for others, it is simply the number of good deeds outweighing the number of bad. The truth is, there is one way to enter the kingdom of God and that truth is Jesus. Our mission trips, volunteer work, outward appearance, and good deeds don't get us anywhere but here. Don't get me wrong. These are all wonderful things, but they alone are not what makes us Christian, nor do they get us into Heaven. Christ in us makes us Christian. And accepting Christ's death as our own gets us into Heaven. That's it. What is your plan to get into heaven? I hope it's Jesus!
Jesus saying this stunned the disciples because in their belief system, the wealthy were for sure in because they could "pay" for their debts. I'm thinking culturally now. How can I relate this to today's current culture? What would it be in our current Christian culture that someone would say is your ticket into heaven? Do we have any misconceptions like that? I think we do, unfortunately. It can be in many forms, depending on whom you're talking to and where their passion lies. For some it is mission trips. If you do a mission trip, you are more Christian than someone who doesn't and you're in. For some it is how much service/volunteer work that makes you more Christian. For others, it is the way in which you live outwardly Christian by book buying, movie going, music listening, church going, Sunday School teaching, and worship team singing. Tidy life means tidy soul??? And yet for others, it is simply the number of good deeds outweighing the number of bad. The truth is, there is one way to enter the kingdom of God and that truth is Jesus. Our mission trips, volunteer work, outward appearance, and good deeds don't get us anywhere but here. Don't get me wrong. These are all wonderful things, but they alone are not what makes us Christian, nor do they get us into Heaven. Christ in us makes us Christian. And accepting Christ's death as our own gets us into Heaven. That's it. What is your plan to get into heaven? I hope it's Jesus!
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