24 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! 25 For 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.”
26 And those who heard it said, “Who then can be saved?”
27 But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
28 Then Peter said, “See, we have left [a]all and followed You.”
29 So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
Luke 18:24-30
With God all things are possible. After seeing how saddened the rich man became, Jesus exclaimed how hard it is for those with worldly wealth to enter the kingdom of God. He compared it to a camel trying to enter a very narrow gate into Jerusalem (the eye of the needle).
The only way to proceed is to shed that worldly wealth in favor of spiritual wealth in heaven.
All can be saved by God, but we must choose to be saved. We must follow Him, and we must believe in Him first. That cannot be done if we drag the world behind us like a leg iron.
Peter then points out for he and the other sisters have left all to follow Jesus, Who responds by stating clearly that anyone who has left behind possessions, family, etc for the sake of the kingdom of God would receive many times more today… and eternal life in the age to come.
The key here is a full focus and attention placed on God to receive the full reward of that faith in Him. Any distraction here draws us further from there.
18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”
21 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”
22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.
Luke 18:18-23
Jesus counsels the rich young ruler. The ruler here apparently was raised with the last but still felt lacking when it came to inheriting eternal life.
As always, Christ raised the bar, telling the man that he should sell all his possessions and distribute the profit to the poor so he may lay up treasures in heaven. As he cherished his wealth to a greater degree than eternal life, he left saddened.
Christ began this change with humility and pointed to the Father as the only one who is good, making it clear who this ruler should be seeking. He then sees how the ruler justifies himself with the law, and challenges him to sacrifice.
This modern generation puts far too much value in fleeting worldly wealth, myself included. Christ set this standard impossibly high so that we must strive to reach for it every single day of our lives. He overcame the world, and now it is our turn to have such faith in Him that we may do the same.
Such a thing is more difficult for the exalted than it would be for the humble.
15 Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 17 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
Luke 18:15-17
Jesus blesses little children. Here people are bringing their children and infants to be blessed by Jesus. The disciples rebuke the people, however Jesus stops them and does not waste the opportunity to teach all present. Children are innocent, pure, bursting with faith and wonder. Christ makes it clear that this is how they should receive the kingdom of God, as a child receives a perfect gift.
Without approaching the kingdom as a child would, they will not enter it.
9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be [a]humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:9-14
The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Such a clear distinction is made here by Jesus when comparing a self-righteous Pharisee to a humbled tax collector.
One feels deserving of exaltation while the other pleads for mercy knowing he is a sinner. To use a modern colloquialism, the Pharisee is virtue signaling for his own glory while in stark contrast the tax collector confesses his sin to God in far fewer but more significant words, humbly. May we all be so humble.
18 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor [a]regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, [b]‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will [c]avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ”
6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Luke 18:1-8
Pray and do not lose hope. I’d imagine that the judge in this parable has lost heart. He holds no regard for God or man, likely due to a long career where he has seen the horrible things men can do to each other in this fallen world in spite of God.
He only helps this widow so she will leave him alone. He has grown tired of hearing her cries for justice, and only plans to do it because it is his job… Not out of genuine love or concern.
The Lord has heard our cries since creation, He will avenge quickly, but in His time. The concern raised here is a very stark one… When Christ returns, will He still find faith here? He will if we continue to pray, and not lose heart.
31 “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his [a]goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two [b]men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. 36 [c]Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.”
37 And they answered and said to Him, “Where, Lord?”
So He said to them, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”
Luke 17:31-37
Here Christ alludes to what will happen at His return. That who value their life and possession will remain behind while those who follow Christ will be taken in an instant. Whoever remains will be subject to the natural order as vultures circle overhead because the time to turn to God and seek salvation has passed.
For the past 4 years, I’ve exclusively driven a 2019 Honda Civic Type-R. It was the most ridiculous car I’ve ever owned, and I absolutely adored it. Feel free to read the linked post to see my commentary on that beast of a car. The thing is, my life is changing and my needs are changing. While I’d been looking for an older truck to fix up, the diamonds in the rough were few and far between… Something drivable was clearly in new truck territory, and the fixer uppers required more skill than I have to fix up.
Now when I sold my 2000 Dodge Intrepid R/T, I vowed I would never buy another Dodge. I’ve owned many, and they all seemed to fall apart after being poorly maintained by a teenager/20 something at around 100k miles. This Jeep wasn’t my first choice. It wasn’t even my second or third choice. At the end of the day though, it is the only choice that made perfect sense to me and met every need I had for a new truck. I wanted 4×4 with some decent off-road chops, 4 doors, heated seats and a stereo with some thump to it.
Of course, every truck I’ve owned until now has been a GM. I’ve had an ’89 Chevy Silverado, a 2008 Chevy Silverado, and a 2017 GMC Sierra. To say I was stunned at the prices of new trucks was an understatement. To get a new GMC Sierra with the same options I had in my 2017, the sticker price was easily $20k higher. I couldn’t justify that. I gave Ford a brief glance, but to be honest outside of the Mustang GT – Ford has never really interested me one bit. I don’t care for Nissan, and despite my love for Honda – the Ridgeline wasn’t it.
Even the Hyundai Santa Cruz which I think looks pretty sharp in person is another SUV with its roof lopped off. I wanted a body on frame pickup, and the last possible option I considered was the Toyota Tacoma. They’re reliable (when the frames aren’t rusting into dust), affordable, and I’ve always liked the look of them. The problem was I couldn’t find a single 2024 model on the lot which met my requirements. One key one – I will NEVER own another black car. Loved my Honda, but keeping it clean was a nightmare scenario.
A good friend of mine owns several Jeeps and after several conversations convinced me to give the Gladiator a look. Now this is where I need to clarify one of the main reasons (besides my absolute love of the car) I kept my Honda for near 5 years. I absolutely hate dealerships. Hate is a strong word, I know, but it’s the only one I can use in polite company. I bought my last two cars from Middletown Honda in Middletown, NY. It was the greatest dealership experience I’ve ever had in my life. 95% of the deal was done via email/phone. I walked in and drove out.
So I found a pair of Gladiator’s in my price range. I’ll just copy and paste what I shared on Facebook here…
It’s been a good… 25 years since I walked into a dealership and kicked the dust off my sneakers as I left because the service was so bad. I’ve been considering trading in my Civic for a pickup, I really like my car so whatever I decide on has to be a great match for me.
One dealer in particular had a specific model I wanted, brand new, in my price range… So I went after work to take a look. After walking the massive lot and not finding it, the “head” of selling that brand introduced himself (no handshake) and brought me to the truck sitting in the showroom.
Ok cool, we struck up some small talk and he insulted my trade in. I mentioned a good friend recommended the dealer after buying the same truck just a different model… “That’s the worst model you can get.” Ok. I hand him my keys so they can appraise the trade.
He meanders off and tells me if anyone comes up to me, I should let them know who I’m working with. He comes back eventually, phone still pressed to his ear and starts trying to upsell me on other trucks.
He tries to upsell me on a different trim that runs 20k more than this one, no actual price mentioned. We still haven’t spoken numbers. Then he takes me outside to another similar truck which is over modified and used but the same price as the new one. I’m not buying someone else’s project.
Still haven’t test driven the truck. Still haven’t had any of the features explained to me. Zero effort made to actually sell me the truck. Instead he rambles about all the similar trucks he’s owned. Oh and he’s barely put his phone down once throughout this.
I make it clear I want the truck in the showroom, I want to test drive it, he says it’ll take a few minutes to get it out so I can. He offers a test drive of a completely different trim, two or three different ones… Nope, I want this one. “Should I write SOLD on the windshield now?”. He proceeds to do just that as I tell him I’m only looking right now.
“Oh you’re just looking!” He says in a sarcastic tone. “I’ll go get the keys.” So I sit in the truck, pop the hood, look around it, etc… At this point I’ve been there nearly 45 minutes (maybe 30 in the showroom) and I’m done. He didn’t even try to sell me the truck.
Had he actually tried to sell me the truck, I likely would have put a deposit on it tonight and went home to clean my car out. Instead, I walk into the sales office, he’s still on the phone and tell him I want my keys back. He mentions he’s about to get the truck out, nope, I’ll have my keys now.
So he looks around the desk, can’t find them. Still on the phone. Heads back to his desk, claims to have the trucks keys in his hand and says he can get it right now. Nope, I just want the keys to my Honda, thanks. He finds them still on his desk roughly 30 minutes after I gave them to him.
“Maybe I’ll come back when you’re less busy” I say as I walk off. Guy couldn’t be bothered. Not angry, just annoyed. Oh well. It was a really nice truck though.
So that’s the story there. Absolutely rotten service. I shared my woes on Facebook, and got a few referrals to OTHER Jeep dealers. One in particular, Hayes in Gainesville, GA absolutely hooked me up. I had a brief conversation with a salesman there about the truck I eventually bought. On even the possibility of me buying it, he drove it from Lawrenceville to Gainesville and set up to meet me after work (around 5pm). I took it for a test drive, had some great conversation, discussed scripture and he sold me the truck!
Here’s the thing though, I never make a big purchase like this in one shot. I always sleep on it. I slept on buying the house I’m sitting in now for a weekend. I slept on the Type-R for a week. For this Jeep? A night. When the salesman asked me what I’d do if someone came in and bought it while I took my time, I simply said “Then that means the good Lord doesn’t want me to have this truck.” On the way home I called my Jeep friend, then called my brother who also owned one… After those two conversations, I was settled. I’d be buying it the next day.
I’ll admit, it was a big change going from a low slung sports car that can eat any curve for breakfast to a truck that was never renowned for its cornering ability. That said, it is quite possibly the most comfortable truck I’ve ever driven. It’s tall, roomy, and has more than enough low-end grunt to get me up to speed from a stop quickly. The off-road chops are beyond question, and for what I paid – I pretty much stole the thing. The stereo is absolutely staggering, the wind/road noise is negligible. I adore this truck!
The only mods I’ve made thus far was upgrading the lighting to LED (all my cars since my VW Golf-R had LED lighting, going back to halogen was like driving by candle light), adding a tonneau cover, and once the parts come in – nerf rails so shorter folks can get in easily. The MPG is a little rough the best I’ve gotten so far is 18MPG after installing the tonneau cover and inflating the massive tires to 37PSI (whats written on the door) from the 35PSI they came with. For the longest time I wanted a convertible and a truck. Now I’ve got both.
Time will tell if my concerns about driving another Chrysler product were warranted, but so far I’m quite thrilled with my Ruby and look forward to many miles and coatings of mud. OH! One other thing, the Jeep wave. Apparently it started back in WW2, idk, but I’ve gotten used to raising two fingers as I pass another Wrangler or Gladiator. I’m not sure if it covers ALL Jeep models but so far I’ve only seen it from those two. Either way I get a kick out of it every time. One last thing? The ducks. I’ve got a handful in my center console, and have ducked two Jeeps so far. I need to put some bible verses on them I think, it’s a good opportunity to share the Gospel.
I know it’s breaking a cardinal rule of AI image generation, I don’t remember most of the prompts used here but where I recall part, I left notes in the image (should show when hovered over). Otherwise… Enjoy!
As long as my breath is in me, And the breath of God in my nostrils, My lips will not speak wickedness, Nor my tongue utter deceit. Far be it from me That I should say you are right; Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live.
