Faith Hurdles (4)

But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” Luke 18.23, 24

Made to know God
Human beings are made to know God. Every one of us is made in His image and likeness, and we have a homing instinct in our souls which makes us long for Him, whether we recognize or admit it or not.

In fact, as Paul explains in Romans 1.18ff, so firmly has the image of God been embossed on the human soul that all people do know God – even those who deny that He exists! He has made Himself plainly known to them in the things He has made, and they are “without excuse,” Paul says, for failing to acknowledge and worship Him.

Now we don’t expect unbelievers to agree with that. However, their disagreement doesn’t make the Bible wrong, and doesn’t negate the fact that all people are made for God, all people know God, and, if they will not worship God, they will worship something else.

Every human being is religious in the sense that we hope in things beyond us, things that transcend our present experience and allow us to envision a better life and a happier and more fulfilling existence. Whatever people set their hope on becomes what they serve. They organize their time and priorities to pursue the thing they hope to achieve. Their vision of the “good life” becomes a consuming passion and establishes values and priorities which keep them on track, as they see it, toward a full and abundant life.

The ultimate “religion”
And for many people in our day material prosperity is the supreme condition, the ultimate destination, the only worthwhile god.

This should not surprise us. Everything about our increasingly secular society is bent toward material happiness: education, politics, advertising, pop culture – you name it. People are reared in an ideological atmosphere which says that in order to be happy you have to have things: The one who has the most toys when he dies, wins.

Deep inside, however, those who have devoted themselves to achieving material prosperity know that this cannot provide the happiness and fulfillment they seek. Wealth cannot, for example, deliver them from the grave. It can’t guarantee they won’t know sorrow or suffering in this life. It won’t make them more likely to love their neighbors. It can’t keep them from growing old. And no matter how wealthy they become, they’re likely to believe that “just a little bit more” will make them happier still.

Wealth and prosperity, rather than bring true happiness and fulfillment, create in many people anxiety, uncertainty, and the fear of losing it all. And they present a huge hurdle to overcome in surrendering to Jesus and the hope of the Gospel.

What Jesus offers
We’ll want to question the materialistic assumptions of any unbelievers who prefer the pursuit of things to following Jesus Christ. How can we do that?

One way is to ask them to describe the final state to which they believe material prosperity will bring them. What will wealth do for them? How will it make them feel? What is it that they really want in life that they think having wealth and things is going to accomplish?

The point is that it’s not wealth, but the state of mind and life they believe wealth will provide – these are what people really want. And what they don’t know, but we do, is that overall state of wellbeing comes not from things, but from the unseen God and Jesus Christ, His Son.

What people really want is what the Gospel offers: unshakeable peace, true friendship, safety, security, hope and joy, life forever without a care in the world. As Augustine explained, God has made us for Himself, and our hearts will always be restless until they find their true rest in Him.

If you can establish that this is what people really want – that sense of wellbeing, security, happiness, and love – then you can question their assumption that material possessions can provide all this. Of course, they can’t.

But we want them to know there is Someone Who can, Someone in Whom all these deep-seated longings of our souls find their full and complete satisfaction. If we can dislodge them just a bit from the god of things, we might be able to clear a path for them to rethink their view of the Gospel.

For reflection or discussion
1.      What would be some other examples of “gods” that people prefer instead of the Lord?

2.      Why is the allure of material possessions so strong? How do Christians prepare themselves to resist this powerful tendency?

3.      Why is Jesus alone qualified and able to bring us to this state of overall wellbeing?

Next steps: How does the allure of materialism keep even some believers from full faith in the Lord? Talk with some Christian friends about this question.

T. M. Moore

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This week’s ReVision study is Part 7 of a 10-part series, “Full Faith.” You can download “Faith Hurdles” as a free PDF, prepared for personal or group study. Simply click here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.