Day 1 – Matthew 19:16-24

The entrance into Jesus’ Kingdom is free, but costly. The young rich man found this out – he was ready to give up everything but his money to enter the Kingdom. Jesus’ response is one of the most famous of His quotations: ‘I tell 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.’ We all have things that make us feel rich – they are the things that we absolutely cannot do without. For this young man, it was his money. But at the heart of his issue is this: he wanted to be his own king, to use his money for his own purposes, to live his life according to what made him happy. Jesus asked him to give this up and he was heartbroken. He couldn’t. We have the same struggle – we all want to be our own king/queen and do whatever will make us happiest. We might even follow all the religious rules because that self-righteous feeling makes us happy. But Jesus calls us to step down from the throne of our hearts and place Him there. We must surrender our in order to enter His Kingdom. Otherwise Jesus is not our King. Prayerfully search your heart today – where are you clinging to kingship/queenship? How can you give up that richness and follow Jesus?