The disciples still seem so dull. Jesus tells them about his impending death and all they can dwell upon is what places of power they will have in the kingdom of heaven. They want to be sure that their name will be remembered.

Jesus tells them that it is in his death that he will be exalted. Jesus teaches them that the pursuit of the Kingdom is not about getting ahead, but about dying. In his case, the cup that has been given to him is one of suffering and death. Clearly his kingdom is from another world – where as citizens we are those who serve.

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There is nothing wrong with being rich; it is what can happen to those who acquire wealth that is Jesus’ focus in Luke 18:18-30: that we can become slaves to it. Instead of owning it – it can own us. This is the reminder that God gives to his people in Deuteronomy 8 when he warns them never to think that they have created their wealth, but to remember that God is the one who has given it to them.

In this story we meet a young, wealthy, influential person who lacks one thing – the ability to walk away from his money. In his exchange with Jesus, we see that Jesus loves him. He is not mad, he does not roll his eyes, he does not condemn, rather he loves. He tells the man to give it all away – why? Because you can’t enter the kingdom with all sorts of attachments, which asks the question, “How many times do we walk away from the loving gaze of Jesus?”

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Jesus says that "anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And yet we make our faith journey about maturity, collection of knowledge, mental assent, moving through the stages of faith. We are unable to live our faith with the wonder, awe, and imagination of a child. We are unable to view and approach God with this perspective and with this posture. But, what does it mean to live in this way?

Does it mean not learning and growing in our understanding of God...staying simple, naive, and immature? No, it is all about understanding our relationship to and with God. Understanding we are first and foremost His children and that we are in a relationship, not a fact gathering, learn all you can, knowledge-based interaction. What does our faith journey look like if we do this? And how can we continue to approach God in relationship with a child's lens while living constantly wooed by the kingdoms of this world? We'll explore these ideas.

Thank you for joining us today! If you feel led to give to DCC, you can do so here: https://pushpay.com/g/denverchurch?src=hpp