Giving Up Everything
It is not easy to give up all you have.
As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'" He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." They were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible." Peter began to say to him, "Look, we have left everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age-- houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions-- and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first." - Mark 10:17-31
Will the rich man in today's Gospel story make it into God's Kingdom and have eternal life?
It appears that he won't even though he has kept all the commandments. Is that fair?
Jesus goes on to tell his disciples that anyone who gives up material things in this world will be rewarded in the next, and that makes sense. We can live with that. But do we need to give up everything to earn our place in heaven?
I like to think that our eternal home is already prepared for us. God has each of us on His mind from before our birth and we can do nothing to lose God's love.
It is our job, however, to return that love through our actions toward one another.
If your child is a disappointment all his life, do you stop loving him? No. You continue to love him despite his actions.
So it is with God.
I think, then, that Jesus was offering the man a better life here, on earth. Sell all your possessions and follow me is an invitation to join Jesus on a journey. Humble yourself and see how rich this life can be.
It is hard to be humble if you have more than you need to survive.
The man walked away disappointed because he couldn't see how glorious life could be with Jesus.
Perhaps we would have done the same. It is hard to know for certain.
What is the modern day equivalent? Do we give up the life we know and change course?
If we hesitate to do that, perhaps we are not ready to offer ourselves fully to God.
That's the hardest choice to make.
More to come...