Strong spirits: who gets in?

What does it take to get into the Kingdom of God?

A very well-off young man approached Jesus with that question one time. They had an interesting - if short - conversation. It began with a discussion of the commandments, and ended when Jesus challenged the man to "sell all you have and give your money to the poor; then come and follow me." (Mark 10:21).

The problem wasn't that the man was rich. The problem was that his riches had gotten in the way of his love for and faith in God. And I have to ask myself, has anything gotten in the way of my relationship with God? How about you?

Just before this story, Jesus had challenged his followers that, if they wanted to get eternal life, they would have to become like children. I'll let you wrestle with what he meant (again Mark 10).

Let me just ask you, do you have a child-like trust in God? Has anything gotten in the way of that?

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Gary Schwerin serves as pastor at Caledonia Congregational Church. He is also the Spiritual Development Minister for the YMCA of the Rock River Valley and Executive Director of Bridge Ministries of Rockford. Prior to launching Bridge Ministries, Gary spent many years in leadership with Young Life. His columns appear here every Sunday - subscribe to our daily email so you don't miss any.

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