^“21 Then Jesus beholding him (the rich, young ruler) loved him, and said unto him, One thing you lack: go your way, sell whatsoever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in Heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.

²² And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

²³ And Jesus looked round about, and said unto His Disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom of God!

²⁴ And the Disciples were astonished at His Words. But Jesus answered again, and said unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the Kingdom of God!

²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.” Mark 10:21-25

It is not sinful to have money.  The problem is most who have riches trust in them for their best life now instead of the Cross of Christ for life and life more abundantly.  Many professing Believers believe in the Cross of Christ for their Salvation but trust in their abilities, intellect, talents, etc. to supply all of their needs according to their riches.  We are not slothful.  Our work, whatever it may be, is unto the Lord and we may or may not have large bank accounts.  The point is, our faith is not in that which we have but in He from whence it came…the Cross of Christ.

“But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

It is hard for those who have or have once had riches to forsake it’s proposed ability to supply our supposed needs. The fact of the matter is, those earthly riches which are gained according to worldly means have absolutely zero to do with the Kingdom of God.  The Cross of Christ was a place of great suffering for Jesus but for us it is a place of great blessing.  In order for the Believer to follow Jesus, we must pick up our cross which are the blessings afforded us by Jesus on Calvary’s Cross and deny ourselves.  We must deny our abilities to supply our needs according to our riches and look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.

The one thing the rich, young ruler lacked was the denial of himself; his abilities, intellect, talents, etc. to supply his needs.  The rich, young ruler’s faith was in his abilities as the source and his riches as the means of all good things he had gained in this life and sadly he was unwilling to forsake them.

The Believer’s faith placed in the Cross of Christ affords them the blessings of God as they follow Jesus.  This is our cross we must bear; the denial of self and contentment with God’s blessings afforded us by the Cross of Christ.  It is not a burden but a blessing.  To complain and murmur about what the Lord has given us is an abomination in the eyes of God for it is His Son’s death that affords us these blessings.  To complain about our circumstances is evidence of where our riches are laid up.  Too many stay busy rebuking the place the Lord has brought us and never understand what He is authoring and finishing in our hearts.

The hard part, the part most do not understand, is the denying of one’s self.  To be frank and honest, “one’s self” is where our faith is placed up until our Salvation.  After our Salvation, we quickly turn back to ourselves in order to gain the abundant life God has promised which is wrong. We fight the good fight of faith DAILY.  That fight of faith is daily denying ourselves and maintaining faith in the Cross of Christ for God to supply all of our needs according to HIS riches in Glory by Christ Jesus.  The Holy Spirit does not superintend the work of God in our lives when our faith is placed in our riches and abilities.

This abundant life isn’t found in earthly riches but in peace beyond all understanding, joy unspeakable and full of glory…in spite of the unpleasant circumstances we may be placed in.

“And He said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Luke 9:23

The one thing we often lack is the denial of self.  Prayerfully consider.

-Donna Clark Warren