A Great Inheritance Awaits

I know it's just about Thanksgiving but I want you to think of the anticipation that builds up for Christmas. You most likely know that you're going to get Christmas presents right, and as Christmas day comes closer and closer you keep wondering...what am I going to get? What am I going to get? What am I going to get?

As the grinch would say, we are greedy little gift monsters.

That is besides the point. When we make the decision to give our lives to Christ do you ever wonder what we are going to get when we die? We hear that we are going to get a great inheritance but what does that mean?

In Matthew chapter 19, there is a unique story about a young rich man. This young rich man approached Jesus and asked him what he has to do to get eternal life. Jesus answered with this: "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." The young rich man reacts as we probably would. We don't know which ones Jesus is talking about so we ask and Jesus replied with: "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young rich man tells Jesus that he has kept all of these commandments and wonders what else he is lacking. Again, this is much like how we would react. Jesus said to him: "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven; and come, follow me." The young rich man went away sorrowful, because he had great possessions. If I had a lot of really cool possessions and were told that I had to give then all away, I would be pretty upset as well. Imagine that. You live a life where you do a fair job at following the commandments and you seem like things are going pretty good for you but you are told that in order for you to have eternal life you have to give everything away. The young rich man probably thought this didn't seem very fair. I don't have a ton of possessions but if I was told I had to give everything away it would be tough. 

This whole time the disciples are right with Jesus and he says to them: "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enters the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Time out. Take a look at what Jesus just said. "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle." Do you know how small in eye of a needle is. I didn't think anything could fit through the eye of a needle and hear we have Jesus saying it's easier for a camel to enter through it then a rich man entering heaven. That is crazy to me. Much like me being astonished by what Jesus said, so were the disciples. "Who can be  saved?" They said. Then Jesus looked at them and said: "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." That makes more sense now doesn't it. Clearly it is impossible for a camel to fit for the eye of a needle but with God all things are possible. It is possible for everyone to get saved. God wants as many troops as he can get.

Peter is wondering what he and the disciples will get for doing all of these things. Much like we wonder right? We make sacrifices and give your lives to Christ so it's fair to wonder what we will get right? We know we will be in heaven, but what are we getting? Jesus replies to Peter with: "Truly, I say you to, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first." It's time to make our faith our own. Our faith in Jesus shouldn't be our parents faith. It should be ours. It should be yours. It's time to leave the things that cause you to fall into sin. It's time to receive the great inheritance that God has promised us. That great inheritance is a a hundredfold and eternal life. A hundredfold is described as something that is 100 times as much. That's a lot! Most importantly what we get is eternal life. Sometimes I don't know if we are able to wrap our minds around that. This life on earth is only a grain of sand compared to what eternal life is like. What we are blessed to inherit is eternal life with our loving Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

I encourage everyone to pursue that inheritance. An inheritance like that we can't even wrap our minds around and that is how great it is. Next time you wonder, what do we get? Remember we are getting eternal life. The greatest gift we could ever get.