“You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.’ ” He replied, “I have kept all these since my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” Luke 18:20-22

“While most of us can say we have never been guilty of murder, adultery, or possibly even stealing, very few of us can honestly say that we have never spoken false words in conversation and have always done what is honorable toward our parents. Even in the best of lives, there is some hedging of the truth or exaggeration that slips into the conversation. Even in the best of children, there are weak moments or difficult periods where we have done less than we could and should to honor our parents. Jesus helped the man confront the real issue in his life by answering his question even though the basis of the question about eternal life may have been false. This man, however, claimed to be a law keeper deluxe! He said he had obeyed all the laws since he was young. However, he surely wasn’t being fully honest with himself. I know I couldn’t say what he said, and I have never met a person who could honestly say the same. How about you? Can you justify yourself based on keeping the law? Are you trying to be righteous simply by being better and obeying more completely than others? In the discussion that followed, Jesus penetrated to the heart of the issue. What would Jesus need to say to speak to your heart?” (Heartlight.org commentary)

“He will make a holy experiment out of you” (Oswald Chambers) Did you ever think that you were possibly a grand experiment on the stage of life? I have often felt as if my whole life was an experiment — and the more I did, the more I experienced, the more I learned about life, the universe and everything (to quote one of my favorite authors, Douglas Adams).

We have to live life to learn about life, and in living life, we learn to try new and different ways to deal with the situations that come upon us. Sometimes we think we have kept all of the commandments, have done all that we “should” have. And then other days we begin to see ourselves as we truly are – sinners trying to make it through another day. So, yes just living life is a grand experiment. And when G-d uses us for G-d’s will, we become a “holy experiment”. We must be open and more prepared than ever to be a test-case for Christ — a case experiment in love, mercy and Grace.

Let us pray,

Lord Christ, I ask that you humble me gently until I can see that my righteousness is based on Jesus’ perfect gift and not my own works. I ask by the power of your Holy Spirit that you conform me more perfectly to the person you want me to be. Amen.

Pastor Dave