This week we learned that money becomes a mirror of our hearts. It reflects what we trust most, what we fear most, and what we love most. We heard about the rich young ruler who wanted the Kingdom, but he didn’t want the King. Do you live like the world is full of abundance and opportunity, or do you experience it as full of scarcity and struggle? This this 5-minute video on Generosity is totally worth checking out (if you haven’t already)
Mark and Matthew both have Jesus encounter with the rich young man. Matthew calls him a ruler. Identifying him as a ruler that wanted the Kingdom (”eternal life”), but didn’t want the King is particularly ironic. Both Mark and Matthew have this right after Jesus blessing the children (a great contrast). What do you make of Jesus saying of the children “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” and after the rich man encounter “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
This is a full chapter for a lifetime of pondering. Verse 25 makes you think Luke is retelling the rich young ruler story “what must I do to inherit eternal life”. But its a very different story. The religious leader seemed to need to justify himself and ask the question “who is my neighbour”. How do these two people feel different, and how is Jesus answer different?
We’ll be spending a lot more time in this chapter in the new year. Right after instructions about fasting (deliberately doing without), Jesus talks about storing possessions. Treasures and Trust. Of course we have no idea, but if the rich young ruler of Mark 10 were hearing this, what do you think he would have said?
Luke 12:13-34
Jesus is asked to weigh in on a money issue. He uses this to speak again of the role of money in our lives. Given what we heard on Sunday, does his response to the man, his parable, and his teaching to the disciples not to worry make sense?
1 Corinthians 8 & 9
Paul has a long (2 chapters) talk to the Corinthians about being generous. Chapter 9 is about cultivating a generous heart. Being generous is easy if we see the world as a place of abundance and opportunity. How do you see the world?
đź“– Oct 12 - Oct 18 The Truly Good News
Oct 5 - Oct 11: The King Has Come
Sept 28 - Oct 4: A New Kind of King