Transformed – teen devotion – October 13, 2024

God’s grace is the most valuable thing you possess. 

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Mark 10:26-27

You Have the Prize

A man asked Jesus the question every human being should be desperate to get the answer for, “How do I get into heaven?” Surprisingly Jesus didn’t say, “Believe in me as your Savior.” Instead he told the man to obey the commandments. Why?
Getting into heaven is like an archery competition. In order to win the prize of heaven, you have to hit the target. The target is obey God’s commandments. If you do this, you get heaven. The young man thought that he had hit the target but Jesus pointed out that he missed. He would rather sacrifice Jesus for his money than his money for Jesus. If you hit the target by obeying God perfectly, you get the prize. If you don’t hit the target, whether you miss by a little or a lot, you don’t get the prize. It means that you don’t get heaven. You get hell. And so, the man left in sorrow.
The truth is no one is able to hit the target. The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23. We, like the disciples, come to the same conclusion, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus’ answer, “With man this is impossible, but not with God.” God sent his Son, Jesus, onto the archery range (Christmas). Jesus pulled back the string and hit the bullseye (he had no sin). Jesus won the prize but doesn’t keep it for himself. He comes over to you in your sorrow, and even though you missed the target badly, he taps you on the shoulder and says, “Hey, I want you to have this.” He gives you the prize (Jesus’ death and resurrection). This is God’s grace for you.
The reason Jesus told the man to obey the commandments rather than telling the man to believe in him as his Savior is because he wanted the man to realize he was not capable of winning the prize himself. Jesus wanted him to despair of himself and then look to God to save him. We don’t know if the man ever looked to Jesus to give him the prize. The question is, do you?

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, Thank you for winning heaven and giving the prize to me freely as a gift. Help me to never take the credit or take your grace for granted. Help me to show my thanks for your gift by getting as close as I can to God’s target. Amen