Daily Inspiration

This past Sunday’s Gospel reading is from Mark 10:17-27, and it is dear to my heart. This was the first Scripture passage that flooded my mind while I was in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew and Mark both wrote about this encounter in their Gospels. A rich man came up to Jesus and called Him “Good teacher”. Jesus answered him by asking a question. I find it interesting to contemplate the questions Jesus asked throughout Scripture. I don’t believe Jesus ever asked a question that He didn’t know the answer to.

Jesus asked, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” When I was with the Holy Spirit, I understood that God’s goodness cannot be fathomed nor can it ever be equaled by man.

Jesus then told the man to obey all the commandments, to which the man replied that he had observed them from his youth. Jesus knows us all, better than we know ourselves, and He knows how hard it is for fallen man to walk the narrow path God calls us to travel. “Jesus looked at the man and loved him.”

The Holy Spirit is first and foremost unimaginable power, but within that power is love, and peace that surpasses the comprehension of any intellect. I learned that the only Way to God was through the Holy Trinity, and He would have to grant each of us a staggering amount of mercy to reach His Kingdom.

Finally, Jesus said to the man, “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” The man left dejected, for he was a rich man and had many possessions. To the Jews of the time, they only knew that God rewarded the just with great riches.

Jesus then finished. “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” The apostles were astonished at these words and wondered who then could be saved. Jesus answered, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.”

This is what was imparted to me about us entering the Kingdom. Jesus tells us that only the Father is Good, that no matter how good we are, as humans we pale in comparison to God’s unimaginable goodness. Of course, we must strive to obey God’s commandments, but because of our human frailty, we will require Jesus’ love, His mercy to enter into the Kingdom. We must surrender ourselves to the Lord in such a way that we no longer care for the trappings of this world. If we surrender our earthly desires and take on the fullness of God, we discover that we have not given up anything of real substance, but truly we have gained everything instead. I have seen the immensity of God’s power and His love, and I understand that for Him, nothing is impossible.

Jesus gives each of us our own individual answer on how we are to enter into the Kingdom. It is so important to understand that because of our human frailty it is still impossible for us to pass through the eye on our own. We require the saving Mercy of Jesus and the ultimate power of God to enter through the eye of the needle. The impossible becomes possible through God.

Jesus asks me what are my earthly riches? He already knows my answer, and whether I am afraid to let them go. Have I answered His call to follow Him, or have I walked away in sadness? In either case, I know that He looks at me, and loves me.

“that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:17-19)