Effortless!
“And when His disciples heard this they were astonished and said, ‘Then who can be saved?’, and looking upon them Jesus said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” –Matthew 19:25-26
I just saw the commercial on TV for that amazing, miraculous ceramic knife. You probably know the one I mean; the one that never needs sharpening, but is guaranteed to be as sharp on day 500 as the day you got it. The knife that guarantees you can cut paper thin slices no matter how much of a klutz you are. The knife that makes cutting effortless, huh. According to my definition of effortless that means you don’t even have to push down on the knife while cutting. In fact, if you even hold the knife while cutting you are exerting effort, so apparently this is a magical knife that can read your thoughts. It automatically opens the knife drawer, and then gets the vegetable or fruit that you need cut up. Washes it, and then slices or dices it while you’re watching the Shoedini commercial! Now that’s effortless. This knife sells for 19.95. Isn’t it amazing that all these miracle products sell for either 9.95, 19.95 or 29.95, but they can all change your life. All you have to do is buy them! Well, we all know that there are no miracle products on TV, and there is nothing you see on the tube will turn you into Superman or Wonder woman. There is however something that is not sold at stores or on TV that will make you better than you ever imagined, and will give you eternal life. This product is the only truly effortless thing that has ever been introduced, in fact if humans try to use their own effort with this they will only mess it up.
The rich, young ruler who came to Jesus in Matthew 19 asked Him the question that we all must ask. “What must I do to be saved?” Jesus told him that he knew the Law, and its requirements. The ruler told him,”…All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking.” (Matthew 19:20) The ruler kept talking to Jesus, and finally He answered him, “…If you wish to be complete, go and sell all your possessions, and give to the poor; and you shall have treasures in heaven. And come, and follow Me.”(Matthew 19:21) I don’t believe Jesus was saying that we have to make ourselves destitute, and move in the “poor house” in order to follow Him. I do believe, however, that Jesus knows the heart of man, and He knows that riches will sometimes corrupt people. Listen to the words that Paul wrote to his apprentice Timothy. “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith; and pierced themselves with many a pang.” (I Timothy 6:10) I don’t believe Jesus was telling the rich ruler, or Paul was telling Timothy that we should always avoid money. I do believe that God blesses some people financially, so they can bless others. What I do believe is that God warns us to be very careful around money because when we have a lot of money that generally leads to a self-sufficient attitude that stands in opposition to God.
Whether we have a trillion dollars in the bank or if we have only the change in our pockets we are loved by God equally. God said in Isaiah 52:3, “…You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed without money.” If we have money or we don’t we cannot pay the price for the gift that was bought for us on Calvary’s Cross.
Father, I thank You for giving me the resources through the blood of Jesus to pay for my position with You. In Jesus name, Amen.
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Yes, You Can Ministry 
