22.01.2019
IBC Admin
A man ran up and knelt before Jesus and asked Him, 'What must I do to inherit eternal life?' Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandment: Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal... ' And the man said to Jesus, 'all these I have kept from my youth.' And Jesus looking at him, loved him. 'You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and gift to the poor...' Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful."
All of us have barriers in our lives that can keep us from following Jesus and discovering God’s will for our lives. In Mark 10:17-22 we discover a man who because of his great wealth was unwilling to follow Jesus. In fact, when invited, vs. 22 tells us he walked away “disheartened and sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
What makes this account in Scripture so tragic is that the man had the right question. In vs. 17 he asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” He also, at least in his own mind had right devotion, believing he “kept God’s commands from his youth.” (vs. 20) And at least for that day, his life seemed to be pointed in the right direction. Mark 10:17 tells us when he saw Jesus, he “ran up and knelt before” Him.
Yet despite kneeling before Jesus with the right question and with great zeal and devotion, we read that the man at the end walked away. What a tragedy to be so close, yet, be so far. Right before him was the very answer to His question for eternal life, yet his wealth got in the way.
But before we are too hard on this “rich young man” let us be honest about our own lives and ask the question: are there things in my life that have become a barrier to following Jesus? Maybe like this young man, money and wealth is our barrier. Or maybe it is something else. Maybe it is an addiction to drugs or alcohol, or a relationship, or a bitterness in our hearts about a circumstance we cannot control.
Jesus is calling all of us to follow Him. To be willing to lay down whatever is standing between us and Him and if necessary be willing to sell all of our possessions, if that is what it takes to put Him first in our lives. There can be no greater tragedy for a human life that to put God second and follow something else that will one day perish with our brief life.
Let us remember that Jesus always calls us to follow Him first. This requires always will demand a change on our part in some measured way. II Peter 3:8 reminds us of God’s goodness “The Lord is patient towards us, not wishing any to perish, but that all should reach repentance.” And repentance here means a willingness to change our minds and be willing to turn from sin and turn to Him.
The goodnews of the gospel is that when we do that, God teaches us that we are forgiven from sin, and receive a new life through Jesus, a life that will not only be radically changed here and now, but also have the promise of eternity. Thank you Lord for your great promise, “For he who has the Son has life.” Amen!