04-16-21

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
April 16, 2021
Scripture: Luke 18:18-19
A certain ruler asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.”

Thought for the Day: This is one of those challenging passages for good Trinitarians. If you believe Jesus was God enfleshed, then shouldn’t Jesus be good as well? I have six or eight different answers to that one question, but that’s not necessarily what is relevant. First, Jesus did not initially answer the question, but challenged a presumption found in the question. He declared God alone as good. Yet as the story moves on, Jesus gave the ruler some suggestions for how he might stretch himself toward God, toward the goodness of God. Yet if God alone is good, then even Jesus must have been stretching himself toward the good that is God. If you think of it in those terms, then the life of Jesus becomes for us a model for how we are to stretch ourselves. Many of the suggestions Jesus made to the ruler were challenging and disruptive to life as usual. In the end, the ruler recognized that and was not willing to make the change. It is interesting how God is always willing to give us a choice.

Prayer: I may not be good as you are good, Lord God, but I seek to have your goodness seen within me more and more each day. Amen.

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