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Can The Unpoor Be True Believers?
by Sandor Balog Of course, they can. Speaking in parables, as Jesus did, seems the best way to make things clear. Remember when the rich man asked Jesus how he could get eternal life, Jesus told him to sell all of his possessions and give the money to the poor. Hearing this, the rich man went away sad. Jesus said in Mat 19:24: "Again I say to you, 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." In my view, this does not literally mean that the rich, or I would rather say: the "unpoor", are supposed to sell their property and give the money to the poor. I think we should take this sentence of Jesus figuratively. In a certain sense, this may be an indirect way of asking whether you would be ready to give away all your property for the Kingdom of God where there is no poverty, disease or any kind of suffering, nor death. More figuratively, it may imply that, as a true follower of Christ, you should pray and be longing for the earliest coming of the Kingdom of God. The main point here is that you should do this truly, from the bottom of your heart. Knowing that the battle of Armageddon, which God promised, is drawing near, you should not, even in secret, be longing for just a few more years of happy life, just a few more summer holidays with the family, just a few more occasions of dining out, buying just a few more consumer goods, desiring to enjoy yourself just a bit more before Armageddon comes. Do not forget Jesus' second commandment about how you should treat your neighbor. While you are enjoying happy moments in life, others, including small children, maybe in the same country you live in, are suffering from different kinds of mental handicaps, physical disabilities and diseases and are dying either of illness, accidents, hunger, thirst or old age. Imagine a situation where some people get stuck in a burning car and you, being unable to rescue them for some reason, do not even call the fire service, just sit in your car and watch the built-in TV and wait until the match of your favorite football team ends. This may only last a few minutes, yet is sufficient time for those people to die in the fire. So, please ask yourself the question when you look into the mirror: "Am I really longing for the earliest coming of the Kingdom of God granting real happiness and eternal life on earth (to 144,000 in heaven) to everyone having survived Armageddon, or would I still like to enjoy my life for a bit longer in this present "system of things"? God bless you! By Sandor Balog Word Count: 470 Copyright: free URL: www.magyarbattila.hu Sandor Balog (pen name: Attila B. Magyar), author of Palm Wednesday. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |