I would like to thank each of YOU who have thrown me a word of encouragement in the past week. I appreciate it greatly, and I love you. I pray that God blesses you for blessing me with a word just in time. Some of you probably don't even know what yousaid - but you have encouraged me. Thank You Jesus!
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Mark 10:17-22 (NKJV)
Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Man
17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ” 20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”
21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”
22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
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Many people read verses 17-18 as if Jesus was saying that He wasn't good? But when Jesus asked this question, “Why do you call Me good?" He was revealing Who He was. "He who has ears to hear, let them hear" (Mark 4:9). What a revelation because so many people have been using this Scripture out of context. Jesus was asking, "Do you really know the One to whom you are talking?" Because only God is truly good, the man was calling Jesus "God," whether or not he realized it; and Jesus was asking, "Do you know Who I Am?" Awesome right?
Unfortunately, I don't believe the man knew. The rich young man was focused on if he would get eternal life, so he asked what he could do. He advised that he'd never once broken any of the laws Jesus mentioned (10:19), and perhaps he had even kept the Pharisees' loophole-filled version of them - it wasn't going to give him eternal life either way. Jesus lovingly broke through the man's pride with a challenge that brought out his true god: "Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor... then come (take up the cross), follow me" (LSAB). Do you remember what The Cross represents? If we take a look back (3/5/10) at TGN: The Cross - http://thegoodnews4yourlife.blogspot.com/2010/03/cross.html. Jesus used the image of carrying a cross to illustrate the ultimate submission required for His followers... Jesus was talking about the bold effort needed to follow Him moment by moment, to do His Will even when the work is difficult and the future looks bleak. Jesus was saying, "Choose me!" The only way to get eternal life is to accept and follow Jesus.
This challenge exposed the barrier that would keep this man out of the Kingdom: his love of money. Money represented his pride in accomplishment and self-effort; money was his savior. Ironically, his attitude made him unable to keep the first commandment: to let nothing be more important than God (Exodus 20:3). He could not meet the one requirement Jesus gave-to turn his whole heart and life over to God. The man came to Jesus wondering what he could do; he left seeing what he was unable to do.
What barriers are keeping you from turning your life over to Christ?
This question is not just for the unsaved; many saved individuals haven't completely turned their lives over to Jesus. Is money your barrier? What does your money mean to you? Although Jesus wanted this man to sell everything and give his money to the poor, this does not mean that all believers should sell all their possessions. Most of His followers did not sell everything, although we'll learn in other books, how they used their possessions to serve others. Instead, this incident shows us that we must not let our possessions, prestige, money... anything keep us from following Jesus. We must remove all barriers to serve Him fully.
If Jesus asked, could you give up your house? your car? your level of income? your position on the ladder of promotion? Let's make it simple, how about your time? Your reaction will reveal your attitude toward these things -- whether it is your servant or your master. Distinguish your barrier(s), so that you can overcome them.
One last thing for today, you will noticed that I made sure to highlight in bold, the fact that Jesus loved this rich young man. People often spread the lie that God does not love the rich. Yup, it's a lie! And we'll talk more about that tomorrow. Jesus showed genuine love for this man, even though He knew that the man might not follow Him. Love is able to give tough advice; it doesn't hedge on the truth. People are so quick to put others down for "judging" them; and some may be - BUT some are just trying to lovingly get you out of ignorance; some do speak the truth to you because they want to see you succeed. We often label it "judging," because we simply don't want to change. Can I be real with you today?!? (Like I'm not real with you every other day LOL) Why do we get mad at people for reminding us to live a life of righteousness - even if they're not; isn't it good to be reminded that we're called to live a life that is according to God and not this world? Or do we want to remain in the ignorance of sin?
Christ loved us enough to die for us, and He also loves us enough to talk straight to us. If His love were superficial, He would give us only His approval; but because His love is COMPLETE, He gives us life-changing challenges.
Are you ready to be changed?
Let's start with recognizing our barriers and removing them. Let's not walk away for Jesus sorrowful.
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Daily Prayer: Heavenly Father! Your Word is SO GOOD! You are not holding back and we're thankful to You! We're thankful that You love us completely; You love us so much You give us the Truth. You don't play around. It's not Your intention to raise ignorant children. Thank You for Your wisdom LORD. Thank You LORD for discernment that comes right on time. LORD, may we really dig deep and bring our barriers that keep us from following Jesus to light. By Your Spirit, may we destroy each and every barrier, in order to have a full, loving, real, and everlasting relationship with You through Your Son. Oh, what an honor to be loved by Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! May our lives honor the great sacrifice You made for each and every one of us. Thank You Jesus! In Your Name we pray. Amen.
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