Good Deeds Gone Bad

Jesus said to Him, "If you want to be prefect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  Then Jesus said to His disciples, "assuredly, I say to you I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  "And again I say to 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."
Matthew 19: 21 24 NKJV

I read the other day of a wealthy Christian man who, during this time of national panic, donated supplies to those in need.  All too often we criticize the rich among us for being uncaring or having no empathy for their neighbors.  Mostly, it is the democrats in America who engage in this income shaming.  However, Jesus did His part to put a rich man on the spot as well.  This all came about with one simple question...who can go to heaven?  Now, most of us have grown up being taught that in order to go to heaven, we need to do our best to be "good."  So, is that the only requirement for joining Jesus in Gods kingdom?  I mean, you wouldn't want to be left behind, right?  To not be invited into eternity with Jesus would be something many of us would not want to contemplate.  The traditional teaching is that we do our best to be good and in the end we're rewarded with eternal life in heaven with Jesus.  Of course, we know that the habit of being good is something most of us fail at more than a few times.  So, it is on these merits that we base our own eternity.  If I do good now, then Jesus will reward me in the end.  However, there's a problem with this approach.  The apostle Paul tells us that there is nothing that we can do that can guarantee our own salvation {Ephesians 2:8}.  So, who can enter heaven?  Anyone.  God never discriminates in His requirements for salvation.  I believe what Jesus was attempting to show the young ruler was that his priorities were a bit skewed.  This becomes clear when He asks the young man to give all he owned to the poor and follow Him.  At this the young man leaves Jesus and goes away disappointed.  Obviously, the young mans riches were more important to him than following Jesus.  His wealth WAS his life.  It is ironic that he would approach Jesus seeking life, yet when Jesus offers him life he turns away.

That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10: 9 NKJV

I believe that we have skewed the idea of our own eternity.  Is heaven the eternity we're shooting for, or is there something more?  Well, as Jesus repeatedly mentioned, the kingdom of heaven is AT HAND.  What?  Yes, Jesus was referring to Himself in this narrative.  Jesus spoke that the kingdom of heaven was not some reward we will receive in the future, but a reality of our present life.  Paul introduces us to this when he claims that it was Jesus who lives through him {Galatians 2:20}.  When we see Jesus not as some future reward, but as our present reality, then we will see the truth of our eternity.  That is, our eternal life IN Christ Jesus.  Our life in Jesus is at hand now.  He lives through us.  As Jesus claimed, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  Jesus is not a reward, but a reality.  Our thought should never be who can enter the kingdom of heaven, but following the lead of Jesus and claiming that He is our all in all.

~Scott~