Ruminating in the Word of God: “Who then can be saved?”

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 18:26,

"Who then can be saved?"

This question was asked of Jesus after he told a man how difficult it
was for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. His comment was,
"How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, 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."

Luke provides this account in the story of a rich "ruler" asking Jesus
what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. We are told the rich
ruler became sad with Jesus' answer when he told him to sell
everything he had, give it to the poor and follow him. Jesus told him
if he were to do that he would have treasure in heaven.

Jesus' answer to the question, "Who then can be saved?", was "What is
impossible with men is possible with God." Luke 18:27. Eternal life
can only be had by God making it possible. Here is the wonderful
expression of God's love of mankind. He has made it possible for us to
spend eternity with him and through Luke's gospel we learn that
possibility is only available through faith in Jesus Christ.

This story of the rich ruler follows two others that tell us something
about God's provision of eternal life relative to our own possible
disposition. In the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector, Luke
18:9-14, we learn pride in one's own righteousness won't get us there.
In the account of Jesus with the little children, Luke 18:15-17 we
learn that unless we become as a child we will won't inherit eternal
life. In these three accounts we learn that lack of humility, not
recognizing our dependency upon him (becoming as a child) and not
being willing to give up what we have here are some issues that
prevent many from placing their faith in Jesus Christ.

God has done his part. He provided his only Son to die in our place
and made it possible for us to inherit eternal life simply by
embracing him in faith. May we all not allow anything to keep us from
what God has made possible!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com