Luke 18:9-14 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:  “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’   “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’  “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Luke 18:18-26  A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”   “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.  You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.” “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.  When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy.  Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!  Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”  Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”   Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.

Yesterday, we talked about having faith like a child.  I find it amazing that in the verses just before and after this passage the point is made even clearer.  So often as ‘grow up’ we start to develop a system in our minds to justify our life and action.  It usually is a way for us to justify our lifestyle that we are ‘good people’.  It’s basically us trying to be the god or our life and making everything around us fit into our philosophy.  When Jesus was talking about coming to Him as a child, we have to put aside our philosophy and follow Christ.  In the first scripture (which was immediately before the scripture about children) we see the arrogance of the man thanking God that he was not like other people.  He saw himself as good and self-righteous to the point he was able to judge other people.  Then we see the other man, confessing his sin and seeking mercy from God (childlike faith).  What a great picture Jesus gives us here and then immediately He has to tell everyone to let the children come to him (even disciples didn’t feel they should come to Jesus) and they didn’t get anything He had just said.

Then immediately after talking about the children a rich young ruler came up and said “What do I need to do to inherit the kingdom?”   The rich young ruler talks about how good he has been and in his self-righteousness thought he was good.  Jesus challenges him to get rid of his wealth (he could have said pride, legalism, judging, or anything you might struggle with) and just trust God.  It is impossible to be “grown up’ or good enough to follow God except through accepting God’s grace by turning over all your goodness to the only good one.  What an amazing sequence of events took place as Jesus showed the way to the kingdom, amazing grace.