When I read Matthew 19, I cannot help but think of the culture of death we have created in America and around the world. We have practiced both physical and spiritual death of marriages and of the family. What a contrast to Jesus and His words that bring life to all who will hear and act upon His truth.
Jesus speaks to us on our most important issues in life. First, he addresses marriage and the importance of oneness, holiness and the covenant of marriage. It was given to us by God to teach us who God is and who we are created in His image. Marriage is to be a sacrament of blessing that follows the biblical teaching that God intends for us to be fruitful and multiply.
Instead, far too many marriages end in divorce, which is death and the end of oneness and fruitfulness. The good news is that those who practice Jesus’ teachings on marriage have only a 2% divorce rate. They are experiencing life and blessings as opposed to the nearly 50% divorce rate in America.
After marriage, He demonstrates how we are to bless our children, the fruit of marriage and of highest value in the family.
I cannot help thinking of the tragic decision we have made as a nation to choose death over life when we have put to death over 63 million babies and, as a world, close to 2 billion babies in the mothers’ wombs.
Children are the most wonderful blessing from God. Pray that we can end this tragedy and the Supreme Court will overturn Roe versus Wade and send the issue back to the states. We need to bless our children with life as God created them to live and end this culture of death in our nation and in the world.
Recent events with the Supreme Court leak gives us tremendous hope that the states will be able to pass their own laws, which is the way it was before Roe was forced upon our nation as a whole.
This will be an intense spiritual battle, which means pray, pray, pray for life and the courage and wisdom for our leaders to do what is right. Also, let us respond in love while others may attack us in hate. Let us not demonize people as the supporters of abortion do. Let us be led by the Holy Spirit and the faith to move this mountain of death into the sea.
These teachings of Jesus at the end of Matthew 19 lead us to the most important issue that Jesus addresses in his conversation with the rich young ruler, which is eternal life. If a person does not have eternal life, they have lost everything.
Through Jesus’ meeting with the rich young ruler, who asks Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life, we learn that eternal life is impossible to gain or earn in our own efforts. Only God can give us eternal life.
John 17:3 gives us the meaning of eternal life: to know the one true God and His Son whom He sent into this world. Eternal life begins when we know God and Jesus Christ. To know means more than intellectual knowledge. It means to experience God and Jesus in love and intimacy in who God is and who Jesus is.
It is a new birth of life from death. It is a free gift from God that cannot be earned by obeying the Ten Commandments or being good enough or atoning for one’s sins.
Eternal life is rooted in Jesus Christ and His blood. By repentance, our sins are forgiven, and by faith in Jesus Christ, we receive the most treasured gift of all, life in His name.
I heard a movie star speak last night, someone who does a tremendous amount of good and is a believer in Jesus. Yet he said he is trying to atone for the sins he committed when he did not know God. I am not saying he does not have eternal life, but he does not understand the wonderful gift Jesus has given him.
Jesus atoned for all of our sins on the cross. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He took away all of our guilt and condemnation on the cross by dying in our place.
Guilt ruins so many believers’ lives, but in Christ, we have no guilt of sin. We are convicted by the Holy Spirit when we sin, but the agony of guilt has been cleansed from our lives. That is the glorious freedom He has blessed us with. This is what He will do with the guilt of abortion that so many carry. You will be set free!
We do good works because of our faith in Jesus Christ, out of love for Him and love for others. Good works are the fruit of our life in knowing God and in knowing Jesus. Eternal life is a life of liberty from the bondages of sin and man-made religion. Jesus said, “Come to Me, and I will give you for your soul” (see Matt. 11:27-29).
Read and study Matthew 19:16-30. The heart of Jesus’ mission as sent by His Father from heaven to earth was and still is to give us the free gift of eternal life through repentance and faith in Jesus as our Savior and what He did for us on the cross.
To know Jesus and His Father is to have the greatest gift, the greatest treasure there is. Without this eternal life, you are left with nothing in the end. Come to Jesus poor in spirit, and yours is the kingdom of heaven, which means you have eternal life. It is the greatest love and joy and gift you will ever know, all because of Jesus and His love for you. {eoa}
Blake Lorenz was raised in the church but never knew Jesus Christ. His god was himself and sports. After he was released from the Chicago Cubs organization, his life fell to pieces. In this crisis, he cried out to Jesus and gave Him his life. Jesus came into his room, and he met Jesus Christ. He surrounded Blake with His love and told me to go into the world to call people to follow Him.
Blake has been married 40 years to Beverly Brackman and has three wonderful grown children and seven grandchildren. God has blessed him to serve as a pastor and evangelist for 38 years in Central Florida and around the world. He just released a new novel called Greater Love, which can be purchased on Amazon. All proceeds go to his mission and evangelism ministries across the world.
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Bill Wiese 
Chris Garcia 
Rabbi Eric Tokajer 
