Luke 18:6-26

6 Then the Master said, "Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying?

7 So what makes you think God won't step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won't he stick up for them?

8 I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?"

9 He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people:

10 "Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man.

11 The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: 'Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people - robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man.

12 I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.'

13 "Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, 'God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.'"

14 Jesus commented, "This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face, but if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."

15 People brought babies to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they shooed them off.

16 Jesus called them back. "Let these children alone. Don't get between them and me. These children are the kingdom's pride and joy.

17 Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in."

18 One day one of the local officials asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to deserve eternal life?"

19 Jesus said, "Why are you calling me good? No one is good - only God.

20 You know the commandments, don't you? No illicit sex, no killing, no stealing, no lying, honor your father and mother."

21 He said, "I've kept them all for as long as I can remember."

22 When Jesus heard that, he said, "Then there's only one thing left to do: Sell everything you own and give it away to the poor. You will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me."

23 This was the last thing the official expected to hear. He was very rich and became terribly sad. He was holding on tight to a lot of things and not about to let them go.

24 Seeing his reaction, Jesus said, "Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who have it all to enter God's kingdom?

25 I'd say it's easier to thread a camel through a needle's eye than get a rich person into God's kingdom."

26 "Then who has any chance at all?" the others asked.