Hey, friend, welcome to another episode of the podcast.
Whether you are watching or listening, whether you are in
your car, in your home, we're glad that you're here and we
hope that our conversations help you have your own conversations.
We're jumping into the Rich young ruler.
So we're working our way through Luke.
We're in Luke 18 still. We're going to be here for one
more week, one more week in 18 and then we'll be through.
But rich young ruler comes to Jesus, asks Jesus this great
question. What must I do to inherit
eternal life and then ends up going away sad.
So that's the teaser at the story.
Not a happy ending. Not a great ending for this
dude, but probably an honest ending.
And the in some ways air quotes here right ending.
Like he walks away being confronted by Jesus and by the
gospel for what he holds near and dear to his heart, for what
you know, his his values are. And he approaches Jesus with one
thing and with sort of his agenda.
And Jesus turns it around and this guy goes away sad because
he realizes that he's got a surrender and laid down his
agendas. So we got a lot of questions,
which is great. So thank you for your questions.
Those of you who sent questions and comments in, We're looking
forward to this conversation. So Justin, take us away.
Let's jump into these questions. Yeah.
And, and maybe just even before that, I just had like a thought
as we were, you know, as you were preaching and as as we were
preparing for, for this morning, even of just like this reminder
that, you know, so this ring you rung, you rich young ruler comes
to Jesus. And then, you know, Jesus lists
off these 10 commandments or some of the 10 commandments
which we're gonna get into in a SEC.
Yeah. And then he's like, I've kept
all these, I've done all the things.
And then Jesus, you know, what does he say?
He says you still lack one thing.
And that's kind of been reverberating for me of like,
and not in like a not in like a guilt and shame he kind of way,
but just sort of like, hey, the journey's not done, right.
That like when we think we have arrived and achieved, you know,
the work of God, God doing heart work on us is not yet done.
That was sort of like, are my big takeaways from yesterday is
just like, like, even if I think I've gotten this one area of my
life sorted out, there's going to be another.
It's a little game of whack A mole.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Yeah. I and I think, I think the, the
thing that I want people to hear and know is like perfection
isn't the, like isn't the requirement.
And that's not sort of the, you know, one day you'll go to Jesus
and go, hey, great, perfect question and perfect execution.
You figured it all out. Great job.
You know, like that's not, that's not the end goal either.
So, you know, I think we are all in a constant native approaching
genius and having the gospel and what Jesus says confront our own
agendas and our own expectations and yeah, ways in which we are
living that like that. That is you're right.
That is a a continual thing that we will well, that we will just
experience all the way through until, as Paul says, we will,
you know, one day see fully and be known fully.
So yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it is a good reminder to
all of us. And this is what I love about
preaching is that, you know, it's a good reminder to me all
the time, which is great. Like that's just a fun place.
To be, yeah, So on the note of the 10 commandments or some of
the 10 commandments that Jesus lists.
So he comes to this man comes to Jesus, and he's like, what do I
need to do to inherit turtle life?
And Jesus lists off you shall not commit adultery, you shall
not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false
testimony. Honor your father and your
mother. So kind of like the I believe
it's the latter 5 of the of the 10 commandments, right?
Is that correct? And he said, And then, you know,
the guy is like, great, I've done that, you know, check Mark.
No problem. I've done.
I've kept all these since I was a boy.
Yeah, there's something that I thought about and then I'll give
credit to my wife Lindsey, who also then kind of expanded on
that as we were talking during a car ride yesterday and just
being like, hey, there's a lot of comments that he didn't
mention, you know, and, and why, why is that?
Why what's going on there? And, and it kind of felt like
you could, you could make an argument if you read through the
the first few 10 commandments that he might be guilty of some
of those, right. And, you know, even thought
about this man who had great wealth, you know, did this man
keep Sabbath or did he skirt around keeping Sabbath so that
he could keep procuring wealth? You know, like there's like
questions that come to mind that that I think are are, you know,
that that they're interesting for us to explore, but I know
that you have some other, you know, insight and thoughts as
well. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So, OK, I'm trying to think about the best like logical way
to answer this and cover off some of the stuff that we didn't
get to in the text, like in the sermon from from the text.
So the the rich young ruler comes to Jesus and you're right.
So he asked Jesus, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
I actually want to back us up to the very beginning of his
question because all throughout this passage, and this is what,
you know, you just, you don't have time to go through every
rabbit trail in the sermon. But all the way through this
passage for a Jewish listener, there would be like alarm bells
going off or signs kind of hinting at the answer all the
way through as Jesus is speaking.
And in English, we miss what's going on.
But in, you know, it's still in Greek.
Like if you read it in Greek, you're also missing some of it.
There's cultural context. Yeah, so likely, you know, so
let's say spoken in Aramaic based on Hebrew Scripture, Jesus
has already hinted at something really, really profound here.
So the rich young ruler comes to Jesus and he says, good teacher,
what must I do to inherit eternal life?
So he addresses GS good teacher. We're like, OK, fine, cool,
whatever. Like maybe it's just sucking up
to Jesus, right. Like maybe he's just trying to
like, hey, I think you're good. And, you know, don't, don't get
angry with me. You know, in, in Matthew, the
the good is also like, what good thing must I do to inherit
eternal life? So that the good there is kind
of just moves. Yeah, yeah.
But Jesus responds, Why do you call me good?
No one is good except God alone. Which is very confusing.
Right. So like, what is Jesus just
said? Yeah, So in English it reads
like, has Jesus just said that he's not God?
Like I can. You can see well how someone
would walk away with that being a question.
And Jesus is sometimes a like kind of skirts around that, you
know, his nature in that way. So like that wouldn't be beyond
that wouldn't be beyond Jesus, but like just for him to
outright, you know, at least what you could assume or infer
from this affirmative, right, kind of say, like I'm I'm not
God, only God is good, right? You know exactly.
The opposite. That's exactly the opposite of
what he saying right. So in in Hebrew what this is
meant to sound like and what is meant to reference for a Jewish
year and listener is the Shamah hero Israel the Lord our God the
Lord is 1 and so Jesus has just said the exact opposite.
So we we hear the question and we separate Jesus and God and to
Jewish listener Jesus question has just stated they would be
they would like this is a reference to the Shima here is
there the Lord our God, the Lord is 1 and that one and good is
meant to say to this man. No, Jesus is stating that he is
God here. And so it's also so it, it,
he's, he's not saying in any way like no one is good except God
alone. And I, you know, I'm a human.
Like what he is saying is you by your own admission, have just
named me like you know that God alone, God is 1 God is good.
And so for you to say that you are naming me God and you are
naming by naming me good, you are naming me God.
So He he Jesus has already started to push against some of
this guys like expectations that he's bringing to this
conversation and and the alarm bells should be going off from
the very beginning when Jesus starts down this now list of of
commandments. So.
Yeah, it was. Is he just sort of treating him
like a like a rabbi? Is that like when you're good
teacher? Is that sort of like what he's
trying to do? Yeah, I think so.
Like this is a common question posed to Jewish teachers like
the rabbis. Yeah.
OK. But you know, there is there's
the good teacher is a it's an odd address.
So that that that is not a typical address to a rabbi.
So something is going on here. So for this man to come and say
good teacher, that's not a we hear that as like a sure, it's
maybe a typical address. It's not it's not that wouldn't
have been a common address. So something different is
happening. There is something subtly
different I. Don't refer to you as good
pastor or you know that would be.
Weird. That would be weird.
So what are you trying to get? What are you trying to like?
What you trying to convince? So.
So we've got this guy, he's come to Jesus.
He's a good teacher. Jesus has just reminded him of
the Shamah like he's reminded him.
Uh, and then flips into these like, why do you call me good?
No one is good except for God. Like remember and now you know
the commandments do not commit adultery, right?
Do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness and on
your father, mother. So those five now to get the
heart like the like the heart of this question is why these 5.
So Jesus is inferring, I think to this man all of the
commandments by listing these five O again in in Jesus's day,
it was commonly understood that these five in order to keep
these five commandments, you would also necessarily be
keeping the 1st 5. So when you flip over to Exodus
20 and you read the commandments, it begins.
God spoke all these words saying, I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the House of
slavery. You shall have no other gods
before me. And in many ways, Jesus has
started his answer in a very similar fashion, right?
Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
I'm the Lord your God, and then he goes into the in the
commandments in Exodus 20. You shall have no other gods
before me. You shall not make yourselves
carved images or any likeness of anything that is heaven above
the earth beneath. So no graven images.
You shall not bow down to them or serve them.
Do not worship them right. I'm the Lord your God.
I'm a jealous God. And so he continues through.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath, keep it holy and then you can you know,
you can read through all of all of the commandments.
So in in Jesus day it was commonly understood that you by
keeping the 2nd 5 which are much more outwardly facing, it is you
are representing 2 people that you respect and honor and keep
the 1st 5 which are internally facing or they face toward God
but have much more to do with your inner life, right?
So you know, first one, you should have no other gods before
me. How do you demonstrate that?
Right? So you demonstrate it by keeping
the 2nd 5 outwardly toward the world and toward other people.
So what what the implication here is?
And I think I stumbled up. I didn't check this, but I think
I stumbled on this through. So it's actually Matthews
telling of it and Matthew 19. And Stanley Hauerwas has a great
Matthew commentary. I think he talks about it, but
it was in one of the Matthew commentaries on the same passage
that that goes into the idea that that what Jesus is doing is
pressing on this guy's heart, right?
So, so he is saying to this rich young ruler by asking him or by
telling him, reminding him that he must keep the second five.
What he's really saying is you have to keep the first five.
Your heart needs to be in the right place.
So he lists these five outward facing commandments because for
all of the listeners, those five outward facing commandments
represent to the world whether your heart is in the right place
or not. And so he said, yeah, sure, I've
done all the things he's indicating to Jesus.
My heart's in the right place. And then Jesus takes it one step
deeper or further and says you still lack one thing.
What he's really saying to him is your heart is not in the
right place, and I'm going to reveal to you what your heart
really values. Go and sell all of the wealth
that you've amassed and accumulated and then come and
follow me. And so this guy's living, he's
so the, the, the Jewish, the rich young man, he's, he's
living with this kind of mathematical equation to life.
If I keep these five, if I keep these outward 5, then that shows
to the world that I'm, I'm a law observing Jew and I've kept the
first five. And by demonstrating these five
to Jesus, I'm showing Jesus that my heart is in the right place
and I'm worthy and deserving of being called a disciple and of
inheriting eternal life. It's, it's almost, I mean, it's
reminiscent of, of the way that the Pharisees have often been
approaching their faith, which is a little transactional, a
little bit like, OK, let me make sure I followed the rules to AT
and, and you know, the transactional in a way.
Yeah, it's an academic. It's an academic endeavor,
right? Like even the question, what
must I do to inherit eternal life is just a good question to
be batted around for fun. Like, you know, with no real
world consequences and Jesus saying, no, there's real world
consequences. And I'm going to start to reveal
to you where, you know, if you think it's A + B = C all the
time, like you're missing something in that simple
equation. Yeah.
And so. So like I said, like this, the
rich young ruler comes to Jesus and he says, Hey, I've done all
these things. Let me show you how good my
heart is. It's almost like the second you
start to talk about how humble you are, you're not humble any
longer, right? And, and Jesus presses him and
says, no, your, your heart is still not in the right place.
And I can see it because of your allegiance to these things.
So, uh, yeah, Why those five? It's because Jesus is using them
as like this rhetorical move to reveal to the man that his heart
is not in the right place the way he assumes it is because
he's done the right things. That's good.
I, I think, I think we have
these, I think we still, like, I think we still have these in the
church. So I, I kind of subtly hinted at
a few. Like, I think you go to church
on Sunday. Oh, my heart's in the right
place. I serve all my hearts in the
right place. Like I volunteer, I show up, I
tithe. Like, I think we've recreated
these, you know, externally facing 10 commandments for
ourselves as Christians in 2026. Like, you know, I think it's
very easy to fall into the same trap of thinking well by my
outward habits because they do listen.
Like your outward habits form and shape your heart and your
mind. Absolutely.
But you know, I think we live this base understanding that,
OK, if I do all the right things, then that must mean that
my hearts in the right place. And maybe it is and maybe it
isn't, but it's not simply because you do the right thing
and and that's what Jesus wants this guy.
So, so there I could imagine a situation where somebody comes
to Jesus and says, yeah, I do all the, I've done all these
five and just says, OK, great, you're your heart is actually in
the right place because everything else is surrendered.
But that's not the case for this guy.
And probably not for most of us. I mean, I think that we can
always find even just like internal motivations that are
are not pure, right? That that even the most moral,
upright, ethical person in the world is still going to miss the
mark in some way, which I think is again, that's you.
You touched on that like that. This is this is our need for
Jesus, right? You know, even like there's
this, there's a show that was around, you know, while back
called The Good Place that kind of dealt with a lot of like
philosophical existential stuff. But there's this one episode
that always sticks out to that sticks out for me that they talk
about like this moral ethical quandary of like you don't, you
know, the rabbit hole like a like a tomato.
OK, well, where where did this tomato come from?
Where was it grown? Was it harvested ethically by
the right people? Where, you know, like, was it,
was it brought here in gas? Because, oh boy, that's, you
know, that could be ruining the planet, right?
So you get on this rabbit hole of like every single choice make
like reverberates with 1000 different ways.
And so, like, I had like a little bit of an existential
crisis after that episode of like, thinking through every
single life choice, right? So we see you growing tomatoes
in your front yard this year. That's why backyard, but yes, OK
and and that's my wife and daughter.
That's that's their job to do. I I have a strict rule that they
grow, I cook. That's that's the plan.
So, yeah, sorry we got a little sidetrack there, but I think
there's just like this idea of like, yeah, we we can all, we
can all suppose some degree of, of morality and ethics and, and
still Jesus can still say there's still something you
lack. Yeah, yeah.
And so I think that's the one of the honest questions maybe to
pray through is, is to ask Jesus to start to show you the thing
that you lack. It's hard.
So here's here's the thing, like here's you start to have
sympathy for this dude, right? Like he he has, and I said this
in the sermon, he's probably spent his entire life trying to
be the right kind of person and trying to do the right things
and trying to be righteous and trying to be successful and
trying to be, you know, a quote, good person.
And you know, he still, Jesus says to him, you still lack one
thing. You're like, oh man, like poor
guy like you. We all have blind spots that we
can't see and you can't see them until somebody reveals them to
you and show like presses and actually says, Hey, this is the
blind spot. Now, then at that point, there's
a whole lot of work to do, which looks to me like he's unwilling
to do. We don't know.
Here's the other. Here's the other thing about
this this whole passage that I say scares me, but like is just
quite interesting. We don't know really what
happens to this guy. He just goes away sad and that's
all we. Know maybe he goes and thinks
about it. Who knows?
Who knows, right? And so it's not there.
All we do know is that he goes away sad because he had great
wealth. Um, and so it's it's yeah.
Did he wrestle it out? Did he not?
Probably not because it's not there.
But, you know, we just never hear of him again.
He's got this great opportunity in question to really confront
some things in his life. He doesn't do it.
And so I think, you know, we need to ask and.
And one of the questions that people can actually practically
take away, I think, from this episode is.
You know, where are you going to carve out time to ask Jesus to
start to reveal the thing to you that you lack?
What is the what's the one thing that you lack?
What is the thing that you are still lacking in this moment?
Which is super vulnerable and challenging.
And I think that it like that's like work to do you and, you
know, you and Jesus and also you and community, because sometimes
Jesus may reveal the thing and then that can get confirmed by,
you know, by community. Yeah, OK, we're good with that.
I mean, not good with it, but you know, so is continuing on in
the text. I want to kind of go like
chronologically. And then maybe toward the end,
we'll circle all the way back to the, the, the beginning of the
passage, which is like the little children.
But so Jesus talks about how hard it is for the rich gene of
the Kingdom of God. And, and then they're like,
well, how can anyone be saved then?
And Jesus says what is impossible with man is possible
with God, which just reminds us that like, hey, like we all lack
a thing. This man, this man lacked the
ability to, you know, this, this, this hold on him.
We all have things that have a hold on us.
We need God's grace, and that is the only way we are going to
enter into the Kingdom. And then Peter says it's kind of
like this little random ending. Yeah.
He's like, we've left all that. We have to follow you.
So he's like, we we did the thing.
We did the thing that that this man was unwilling to do.
And then Jesus says, truly, I tell you, no one who has left
home or wife or brother or sister or parents or children
for the sake of the Kingdom of God will fail to receive many
times as much in this age and in the age to come eternal life.
So kind of weird, like what, what does that mean?
What is, is Jesus encouraging us to, to leave our families to,
to, to do the work of the Kingdom?
And, and will if I, if I, if I leave my family for the Kingdom,
will I get, will I get more back monetarily?
Like what? What's what's happening here?
Yeah, no, I think the. Can you just just say no to
that? The take away is no, don't,
don't do that. Yeah, I, you know, I think, I
think very, very rarely would that be the case, right?
Is, is that never the case? No, I'm not, I'm not gonna say
that, but that that's not the point of this, this passage
here. So Jesus isn't giving us like
this prescription for how to live the best disciple life
possible. You know, he's not saying yeah,
he's not saying leave your family in, in that, in that way.
I think what he is saying is to a group of people who have left
everything to follow Jesus, it's going to be OK for you.
Like, like I, I actually, you know, I, I can't again, can't
remember where, where I read this, but I, I think that this
is in some ways like the most pastoral response that she could
have for his own disciples because.
Because they have. Left, they have left everything
absolutely. And so, you know, in some way.
So I think to a couple things are happening. 1 Peter asked
this question and he says see like we've left our homes and
followed you. I almost think Peter is having
this like existential crisis, right?
He's like, we've we've done the thing.
Hmm. And you've just said impossible
for man, possible for God, Like we've done this.
Help us understand what's happening.
Like, is it gonna be OK? Like, are we good?
Yeah. And I think she's saying, hey,
don't worry, Peter. Like, you know, you, you, you
are obedient and you are responding.
And there will be reward and implication for that, right?
Like there, there. That will not be for not.
It will not amount to nothing. So I do think it's a pastoral
response that Jesus is turning toward Peter and the disciples
to say, yeah, that you have and that's a decision that's worth
honoring and that's a decision that is worthwhile.
And that is a a decision that's going to lead to our life.
Like these are guys who left their livelihoods.
They left there their profession.
They walked away, some of them from their father in a boat and
followed Jesus. They are actually doing the
thing. And sometimes Jesus response to
the disciples need to be read in light of their immediate life,
like what is actually happening immediately for them.
And I think that this is one of them.
Now, as I say, 2 two things. So that's number one #2 I do
think that Jesus is highlighting the difference between the rich
young man and the disciples. So he's saying truly, he's
saying, yes, you are right. You have left and you have
sacrificed and you have given and walked away from for the
sake of the Kingdom. And that's what it does take.
Hmm. So I, I think that both of those
things can be true. I think that this is a pastoral
response for for Peter and for the disciples.
And I think that Jesus is really pressing the fact that this rich
young man is. It's not that what Jesus has
asked him to do is impossible in the sense that nobody has done
it. Like the rich young man is not
being asked to walk away from anything different than what the
disciples have already walked away from.
Yeah. And so I think Jesus does want
to press on the fact that you know, don't don't make it sound
like I've given you this, this completely impossible task to do
to respond to that should make you walk away sad that even more
so is revealing what's going on in your heart.
So the the response to just so if you know, if your response to
this is say, well, you know what you are asking of me is too
much. Therefore what you are asking
doesn't matter, I'm going to completely abandon the thing.
I think that this response is also for you because Jesus is
pointing out no, the disciples have done this, you have just is
is really affirming them. He's saying, yes, you have and
it's that is a sacrifice. And it is not easy, but it is
doable in the not in the sense of salvation, because what he's
saying very clearly is in the grand scheme of salvation, this
is impossible for you to earn. Yes, But what is possible is
your obedience. What is possible is for you to
respond. What is possible is for you to
surrender all of the things of your life that you would really
rather hold on to. What is possible is for you to
say sure, Jesus, you, you get in getting my full allegiance.
You, you get my finances, right? You get all the things that I've
amassed, they're yours. So, you know, I think he is.
He's pointing out just how in some ways foolish the rich young
man is. And again, like you got to have
sympathy for this guy. Um, but really, like what this
story is revealing is that he is choosing to walk away from a
life following Jesus for the sake of his wealth.
And man, that's that's a conversation for 2026.
Like it's sobering and also it's like it's, we're in this, you
know, you mentioned our, our year like, and, and it's, it's a
challenging situation where in, in the West there is this, it
increasing feeling of scarcity because, you know, prices have
been driven up, you know, gas, although gas price was a little
cheaper in the past couple days, but gas prices are super high.
The cost of living is, is, has skyrocketed over the past, say
five years, you know, and so there is this sense of, of
scarcity that I hear from some people that I think would maybe
have people not identify with this rich young ruler in some
way. And yet I, I think I want to
temper that by also saying like, and yet we are still so far
beyond wealthy compared to so many other parts of the world.
And so like, it's this, this double edged sword of like, man,
people, people aren't feeling rich.
A lot of people aren't feeling rich right now.
Yeah, Yeah. I think the same thing for money
goes as does pride. So, you know, I, I think that
you can have. So pride can be an issue for
you. Yeah.
Because you think 2 for everyone, but because you think
too highly of yourself, it can also be an issue when you think
too lowly of yourself because at the end of the day, you're still
making everything about you. Yeah.
And I think that when it comes
to money, everything can be about money, whether you have
too much of it or too little of it.
And, you know, admittedly, it's, you know, a harder life maybe to
live when you have too little of it.
But I think that your allegiance can still be to something that
you lack. Right?
So like the like stereotypical American dream started with
nothing and make everything, well, money's the idle when you
have $0.00 and money's the idle when you have a million or 2
million or 10 million or billion.
Like, it doesn't the the amount doesn't matter.
I think the allegiance matters and I don't necessarily think
that the amount mattered to this guy.
I don't matter to him. I don't think that the amount
necessarily matters in terms of the implication of the story
other than to say he's he goes away very sad because he's very
wealthy. So it's just exemplifying his
love of money, right? And but I, I think that the
warning that I would give to people and to myself like this
is the warning that we all need to wrestle with.
Is that the thing? The thing that you, the thing
that you fear you lack, can also become an idol and worshiped in
the same way as someone who has too much of the thing.
Yeah. And so that like at the end of
the day, that's the danger of of money.
Same with a whole lot of other things, right?
You know you can. Ah man, you can idolize
marriage. Marriage can be your idol while
you're still single. Yes, And very often is, right.
But it's like, it's the thing. It's the thing that's gonna make
me happy. Family, kids, having kids.
It's the thing that's gonna make me happy.
It's the thing that I'm gonna find fulfillment finally, my
life, like I will have made it. And then you get there, and it
can be the thing that you idolize when you have it.
Yeah. So yeah, like this is the danger
with idols is that you don't have to have it for it to be the
idol like. And and as you're using that
word, I'm just reminded of, you know, going back all the way 10
commandments, like, hey, you know, this guy again revealing
of his heart that his heart was not fully following those first
few commandments. Yeah.
OK, so one final turn here. So you know, the this story is,
you know, largely about this, this Richmond, you rich young
ruler. It's a bit of a tongue twister,
but as you said, in all the Synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark
and Luke, it's paired with this story of the little children
coming to Jesus. And one of the questions that
that came out, it's a beautiful story.
It's you know, it's it's it's lovely.
I mean, yeah, you're right. You can sentimental
sentimentalize it a little bit. But like so good question came
in about what is being childlike in God's eyes besides
acknowledging our dependence. So in the passage, Jesus says
the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these children don't
hinder them from coming to me. Anyone who will not receive the
Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.
And So what does what does a childlike faith look like?
You know, I can't imagine it would just be like liability
because I think I, I have a I I bristle at that of like, I I
don't want a naive faith. I want to deep faith.
And yet there is also like this desire for like a a childlike
faith as well. That just that that believes
that trusts that is dependent on Yeah, I don't.
Know yeah so so ironically like all of the the for all the
reasons that we sentimentalized children and faith I think what
we're seeing is the best qualities that we in some ways
are jealous of this is the interesting thing about life
man. Like when you're a kid, all you
want to be is an adult and then you're adult.
You're like, man, all I wanna be is a kid again, right?
Like we just, we have this funny relationship between stages of
life. But I do think that all of the
reasons why we sentimentalize childlike faith are still true.
Like there are, there are many good qualities about the way a
kid looks at the world with wonder and excitement and
curiosity and openness to what could be that are good.
I think that the danger is we leave it at that level.
So you what? What I really wanted to push on
Sunday was the fact that children in Jesus day had
nothing, no status and they were no good in a revolution, right?
Like, and in the disciples minds, that's what Jesus was
leading was a revolution. And in their minds at this point
still they're like, OK, at some point we're gonna have to pick
up swords and like over overthrow the government.
Like something's happening. These guys are no good to us,
right? And so like kids are just gonna
get in the way. Yeah.
And and Jesus lifts them up to this.
I said like stakeholder, shareholder position, like the
Kingdom belongs to them. And you need to learn, you adult
need to learn how to see life like these kids and how to how
to receive the Kingdom. That's the point.
Like you need to learn how to receive the Kingdom like a
child. Well, a child can't earn it, a
child can't fight for it. Like a child can only be given
the thing, and that's Jesus's main point.
You can only be given the thing. And so a childlike faith has to
start there. It has to be about our need to
receive from God the thing that we cannot earn and have no
status to attain. It is in that in that sense
about salvation. And you know, the danger is we
don't love that. And so we make it only about,
well, I need to be curious and I need to be, you know, filled
with wonder and joy and ask questions.
And you're just creating a new list.
You're literally just creating a new list of qualities that you
need to achieve in order to receive the Kingdom.
Yeah. So it has to be about
dependence, but it's it's so I think the making it entirely
about dependence also guards it from being well, kids are naive.
Like they just accept things blindly.
You tell them that something is true and and they believe it.
Well, no, it's not about that. It is literally about their
inability to do for themselves the things that only an adult
can do for them. Right.
They can't go find food. Hmm, They can't change their own
diaper. They need to be put to bed,
right? They need to be fed.
They like so. So I think that the dependence
piece guards in some way too against the against it being,
oh, well, that's just about like, that's a naive childish
faith. So childlike doesn't mean
childish, which I think is something we commonly hear
people talk about. It's not just about being naive
and it's not about having a blind faith that just accepts
without any sort of reason conversation.
You know, uh, one of my favorite like Andy Stanley quotes is
like, if you grew up in the church, you, you know, the, you
know, the, the, the song probably if you grew up in the
church as a child, at least in our era.
Jesus loves me. This I know for the Bible tells
me so. Yeah.
And his whole argument is most adults never left that level of
faith. Jesus loves me this I know for
the Bible tells me so. OK, great.
But now you're in the middle of a divorce.
How do you know that Jesus is love for you still matters in
these moments? Well, Jesus loves me.
This I know, for the Bible tells me it doesn't quite cut it when
you are going through like the deep valleys and the darkest
nights of the soul. So we need to have a faith that
grows with us. Absolutely.
Um, but at some point I think we as adults leave the dependence
part behind. Like, well, you know, I gotta, I
gotta work for things on my own. I got to earn what I have and I
need to prove that I am of worth and I need to continue to show U
and somebody eventually will recognize that I am of value.
And at some point we, we, we start seeing dependence as this
horrible negative thing. Now, ought we work hard?
Yes, absolutely. Ought we contribute to community
and life together? Yes, for sure.
Like none of those things are bad.
But I think very often we lose sight of the fact that when it
comes to our relationship with God, we are dependent and
maintain that dependence all the way through life.
And so I think what she is really is saying is A1, like
first plate, like, like sort of first, the place to start is by
recognizing our dependence and from recognizing.
Now, are there also good qualities?
Like, should life be more curious than cynical?
Yes, sure. Absolutely.
Yeah. And kids are more curious and
adults are more cynical generally, right?
Should we be filled with wonder? Like I would love to be filled
with wonder. Like my kids when they see
something for the very first time.
Yeah, absolutely. I see that.
And I go, I want something like that.
Like, God help me to have this newfound, like second almost not
I would say second naivete because that's what philosophers
use. But like this second sort of
season of wonder where you recapture wonder and things
that, you know, children see. Yeah, for sure.
Are those good? Yes.
Only when they are think are have their starting point with
dependents. I want, I wonder if like an
adult version of some of that can be, you know, for, for me,
something I've started to really work through is like, rather
than wonder because that's harder to muster up myself.
It's just like mystery, like like there's a lot of there's a
lot of things I'm never going to solve in this life.
And, and that I'm never like, I think that my like, you know,
postmodern imperial evidence, you know, based mind wants to
know the answer to all these things.
And just like trying to centre myself on the fact that like,
hey, like somethings are just be a mystery.
And that's actually like wonder in that of like, I'm not gonna
figure this out. Yeah, one day I'm gonna ask
Jesus about it. And and like there's actually
something like. Profound and and also dependent
about that, right? So there is like that feels like
a a maybe a a grown up equivalent in some ways.
I don't. Know yeah for me it's curiosity
like that's the language that that really helps because, you
know, it pushes against the the you know, the person who would
say, well, you're just telling me to accept everything blindly.
No ask a million questions. Yeah.
Like what are kids great at driving you nuts by asking why
10,000 times in 5 minutes? Like there is something good
about like the this desire for knowledge and to figure out how
the world works. And so for me it's this in the
same way I think it the languages.
How do you remain curious about life in God and your own self.
And that's the thing that guards against bitterness and
resentment and cynicism is staying as curious as possible
instead of closing off. Yeah.
So, you know, childlike faith begins with dependence and then
can include so many of these things.
But I think what I would warn people about doing is just
simply creating a new list of ways in which you are working to
solve the problem for yourself, because that's not what Jesus is
saying. And so childlike faith, it can
be filled with wonder. And as you've said, I think
mystery is a good way to, to to put it right.
And being OK when tensions don't resolve and being alright when
you don't know the answers to all of the things.
And like I said, for me, it's it's about curiosity and this
constant wonder about what you know, what could be and what God
is doing and what is, you know, my place in all of it.
And constantly trying to pray into figuring those things out.
Hmm O. O hopefully this gives us lots
of things to, to chew on, whether you're talking with
family or friends from the church or whatever that looks
like for you just to be thinking about.
I think particularly this last little bit, you know, OK, what
does it look like for me to have a childlike faith?
And then also asking that other question of like, Hey, Jesus,
like what's what's the one thing that I like?
What's, what's the one thing that I need to and that's that's
a hard thing to do. That's a like, you might need to
carve like a an hour or two just to like sit with God in that.
And it can be uncomfortable. But we hope that you will take
some time to do just that. And also, we hope that you'll
come back next week as we continue on in Luke.
And I'm sure next week will be very, very different based on
the upcoming passage. But yeah, we hope that this has
been helpful for you in some ways and we hope that you will
join us next time. Have a great week.