Sacrifices
In life we make decisions and some of those decisions include sacrifices.
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
The wealthy man didn't want to sacrifice anything.
His life was perfect in his eyes. All he wanted was validation. You are doing a great job. You will make it into the kingdom.
When Jesus told him what it takes, he claimed those things, so Jesus let him know that he could do more, much more.
It is all about sacrifice. It is not about ticking the boxes or racking up the points.
The more we do, the more we can do. That is what sacrifice is all about. When we live our lives devoted to God, we are constantly looking for ways to do as He does, expressing our love for one another, making life better for the next guy.
Sacrifice is the work of a lifetime, not just a moment.
The rich man and Peter failed to grasp that. For them, it was for what they had already done that they sought praise and reward.
But life is a continuum. After this, what next?
More to come...