MARK 10:17-22 – “And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 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.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
THEME OF THE DAY: HE WANTS ALL OF US. All Christians encounter a crisis point in their walk with Jesus. It will occur often. I am not referring to the crisis of trials, temptations, or difficulties. We have those too. The crisis point I am referring to is like the rich man in today’s scripture. It is the crisis of commitment, and particularly the crisis of commitment to the Lord Jesus.
Let’s set the stage. A man comes running up to Jesus and he does so in a respectful manner. He kneels, with respect, and asks a sincere question of the Lord – “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus corrects his statement about being good and then gives him six of the ten commandments in God’s moral law. Jesus knew the man had not kept them. No one can, but the man, being self-deceived, boasted he had done so. Then the real issue came to the forefront of the encounter. Jesus went straight to the heart of the matter. And this was the crisis point of commitment for the rich man.
Our Lord knew what was most precious and dear to the man. It was his possessions, and if the man was going to inherit eternal life, become a follower of Jesus, then not a single area of his life could be retained for himself. All must be surrendered to the Lord. The story doesn’t end well. He refused and went away sorrowful. He was not willing to give away his earthly treasure for heavenly treasure. I often wonder if the man ever did commit to Christ. We will know when we get to heaven.
The rich man failed at his initial crisis point of commitment to Jesus. All who are truly Christians have not, but the question now becomes what about those crisis points of commitment to Jesus after we are saved? They happen and will happen in our lives. The Lord’s work in us will include stripping away everything and anyone that hinders us from a totally consecrated commitment to Him. How will He do this? By bringing to our minds and hearts those things and people which might keep us from the commitment He wants us to have toward Him. Don’t misunderstand me. Jesus never demands us to slack on our responsibilities to our families and employment, but if there are things and people occupying our minds and hearts more prominently than He does, He will challenge us about them. Like He did the rich young man. When it happens, what will we do? Walk away like he did or surrender to the Lordship of Jesus?
Remember, Christ gave all of His life for us. He deserves and even demands nothing less in our lives toward Him. He wants all of us.
PRAYER: Lord, don’t let me hold anything back from You. Enable me to fully surrender my life to You.
REFLECTION: Jesus didn’t just give part of His life for us and such love demands we give all our lives to Him.