21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Mark 10:21,22 ESV
Youth. Wealth. Power. He had it all. And, by golly, he was going to keep it all!
If you have spent much time at all attending church, watching Christian t.v., or listening to religious radio, you have probably heard the story of the rich young ruler. Jesus' request of the young man seems draconian. Sell it all. Give the proceeds away. Perhaps Jesus was testing the man's heart. Or maybe the wealthy power broker was being used by Jesus for an object lesson for others. Whatever the purpose, we read the young man walked away "sorrowful, for he had great possessions".
When we hear this story, it is tempting to take it lightly because of the severity of Jesus' request. Sell it all, then give the proceeds to the poor. Nothing left to provide for the family. No house. No bank account. No transportation. While there may be a time when Jesus leads us into poverty, I don't think that is the true lesson in this oft repeated story.
While the entirety of our possessions may not be required of us, are there things God is asking we sacrifice for Him that we are still holding on to? One are I am being convicting about is time. As as educator, my summer schedule is a bit less structured and as a result my bedtime has been crept back slightly over these past several weeks. As a result the snooze button is being pressed more often in the morning which in turn puts me behind in the a.m. What gets pushed aside? Walking the dog? Shaving? Breakfast? Time with God? You guessed it, time with God.
I have been unwilling to give up that extra rerun of "Law and Order" or put John Grisham latest novel down a couple of chapters earlier each evening so that I will have the rest and time to give God quality time in the morning. In this case, the "sacrifice" is a small thing, but the benefits of obedience are tenfold compared to what is given up.
What is God asking you to give up? Maybe it is walking away from the gossip group in the staff lounge. Perhaps it is a relationship that needs to be adjusted or abandoned. It might be a financial sacrifice. Whatever it is, until you are obedient, our relationship with our Heavenly Father will suffer until we step our in faith and are obedient to Him.
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