Rich Man, Poor Man, and the Middle Man

Devo from Luke 18:18-30 A rich young ruler sought from Jesus how he could attain eternal life. The young man pointed to his good deeds. Yet, Jesus pointed out to him that he was still lacking. We tend to do that. We look to the good side of our account, and turn a blind-eye to our short-comings. Knowing that his wealth and the power and connections that come with that meant too much to the man, Jesus told him to shed his wealth and follow him. The man was sad, because that had him dying to self, to his world. The onlookers were astonished. They thought, if the rich man can't be saved, then who can? Jesus explained that salvation by man (works) is impossible. You can't get to God without God! Yet, salvation is possible through God. Peter jumped in to proclaim that the disciples had dropped all to follow Jesus. To which Jesus pointed out, all who forsake this world for God's kingdom will be rewarded many times over in the age to come. ---It is tough for the rich to give up their power and connections to follow Jesus. Dying to self seems the toughest when associated with giving up wealth or money. Their security is tied up to the fact they have plenty of dollars. The poor have a tougher time giving up relationships. To follow Christ they often need to sever relationships, but have a tough time with that. Meanwhile, the middle class have a tougher time giving up the achievement dream. Sometimes that plays out in their offering of time, talent or money. The middle class has a hard time dying to self when the choice is between adding on to the garage or adding on to the church or mission work. Each one has to give up something to follow Jesus, but Jesus promises greater rewards in the age to come!