Around Tokyo
Live Poor, Die Poor, and Get Accepted in Heaven to be Given Eternal Life
Christ Jesus told a rich, young man that he had to sell all his possessions to others to earn money and give the money to the poor and then he should follow Him in order to be accepted in Heaven and given eternal life.
Matthew 19
16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
This incident simply tells that no words can be trusted but only concrete actions are needed to show one's faith.
You may say that you are following the words of the God, but you cannot prove that you are following the words of the God without selling your possessions and giving all the money obtained from the transaction to the poor.
If you sold your possessions and gave all the money obtained from the transaction to the poor, you would be poor, too. But, by this act, you can accumulate treasure in Heaven and obtain eternal life.
Therefore, being poor must be appreciated more than witnessing for compliance with the teaching of the God. It means being rich is supported by some serious evil, but being poor means a lack of the serious evil. There must be something important that can be found and understood only when we get poor.
Anyway, the world poor men see is different from the world rich men see. And, the world poor men see should be akin to the world Christ Jesus saw.
Put simply, all we can say is to be poor, live poor, die poor, and get accepted in Heaven so that you can be given eternal life by the God.
++++ ++++ ++++
John 11, King James Version
4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.
7 Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.
8 His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?
9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.
10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.