A God-first Life

A GOD-FIRST LIFE

a prayer to open

Open my eyes and help me to see you.

Open my heart and help me to know you.

Jesus, my Lord and my God.

Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.’”

The man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich.

When Jesus saw this, he said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! In fact, 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!”

Those who heard this said, “Then who in the world can be saved?”

He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.”

Peter said, “We’ve left our homes to follow you.”

“Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come.”

God asks all of us to let go of, or turn from, whatever gets in the way of our relationships with him. We tend to make gods out of people or possessions, robbing God of his rightful place in our lives and ourselves of richness and joy. The rich ruler seems to have placed his ultimate trust in his possessions, so much so that he decided he couldn’t give them up at Jesus’ call. Money can have this effect. Some of us, though, put too much of our ultimate hope in other people—perhaps our spouses or parents or children, or maybe authority figures or leaders. Placing our ultimate hope in anything or any person other than God will result in a lesser life. Putting God at the center of our lives and trusting more of ourselves to him, on the other hand, means life abundant—life with purpose.

• Look at Jesus’ words in this passage. What kinds of emotions or resistance do they stir in you? Ask for God’s guidance as you sort through whatever is stirred.
• If others were to look through your monthly expenditures and calendar, what would they conclude you treasure most? Is there anything you feel God calling you to relinquish?
• What does today’s passage reveal to you about Jesus?

Father, I want my loyalty to be to you above all else. I grip other things and relationships so tightly, as if I could control them and they could sustain me fully and forever. But, Lord, I know that only you can fill my heart and satisfy my soul. And I know that it is only by your grace and through your Spirit that I can love the family and friends you have given me. Show me what is taking your place in my heart, and give me the ability to release it to you. Continue to guide me. Amen.