Jesus speaking of the dangers of wealth reminds us of the dangerous illusion that good things happening to us means God is blessing us. Peter and the apostles were guilty of this illusion. Peter said to him in reply, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?” The truth is that God is blessing us, that God is for us, that God is loving us in all things and through all things. We are still the beloved of God when the bill collector is beating at the door, when the doctor says “it’s cancer,” when you best friend starts talking trash about you. The challenge for people of faith is to see the hand of God at work even when negative things are happening. It often requires backing up and seeing a bigger picture, how what I am going through makes sense only when looked at from the point of view of God who can do the impossible, who can make a way out of no way.
