God’s Kingdom

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Matthew 19:24

God’s Kingdom is not built on the profit motive. The world’s favorite verb is get. The verb of the Christian is give. Self-interest is basic in modern society. Everyone asks, “What’s in it for me?” In a world founded on materialism, this is natural and normal.

But in God’s Kingdom self-interest is not basic—selflessness is. The Founder, Jesus Christ, was rich, and yet He became poor that we “through his poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). His disciples followed Him, and it was said of them, “Neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own” (Acts 4:32). Peter, rich in heavenly goods but poor in worldly goods, said to the lame man on the Temple steps, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have I give to thee” (Acts 3:6). The apostles realized that there is no permanent value in worldly goods and cherished the abiding values of the Spirit. They lived with eternity in view.

Today we too often hold spiritual things in contempt and lust after the things of this world. Little wonder that the world is in a state of turmoil! Mammon is worshipped, and God is disdained. Pleasure takes precedence over purity, and gain is considered greater than God.

But in God’s Kingdom he that is greatest among you is the servant of all (Matthew 23:11). Service to God and mankind are put above self-interest. Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Christ proved His words by doing exactly that for us.

Our Father and our God, let me walk with You through this life. Let me learn to be selfless and generous to my family, to my friends, to Your church, and to every creature I meet. Give me a heart of compassion, Father, like the heart of Jesus Christ on the cross. Make me rich in love and poor in pride. In Jesus’ blessed name. Amen.

Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).