“As
Jesus continued down the road, a man ran up, knelt before him, and asked, “Good
Teacher, what must I do to obtain eternal life?”
Jesus
replied, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except the one God. 19 You know the commandments: Don’t commit
murder. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t steal. Don’t give false testimony. Don’t
cheat. Honor your father and mother.”
“Teacher,”
he responded, “I’ve kept all of these things since I was a boy.”
Jesus
looked at him carefully and loved him. He said, “You are lacking one thing. Go,
sell what you own, and give the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure
in heaven. And come, follow me.” 22 But the man was dismayed at this statement
and went away saddened, because he had many possessions.” Mark 10:17-22
“There are two kinds of people: those who say to
God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it
your way.’” C.S. Lewis
Big
Idea: You can say no...
There it is,
your escape hatch. You can just walk away. Jesus won’t run you down and tackle
you with your divine calling. He will just let you live a life that is less
than it could have been. Less fulfilling. Less impactful. Less rewarding. Just
less.
I have often
wondered how many others Jesus invited to follow Him that just could not let go
of their past in order to embrace their future? In this scripture we give the
young man a hard time when he is probably more like us that we would ever want
to admit. He had responsibilities, possessions, and stuff. He was doing all the
right things, living a “good” life, yet he knew there was something more. When
he approached Jesus, Jesus showed him what was getting in the way with him
living a life that matters.
Whenever you
encounter Jesus, there is aways an invitation to follow as well as a challenge
to let go of anything that is holding you back. For this man his possessions
acted as a weight upon his soul, keeping him from fully following Jesus. The
moment of decision came, and he walked away. He settled for living the life he
knew rather than pursuing a life that mattered.
In life we
learn to settle. We face disappointment or discouragement and eventually those,
too, act as tethers that keep uf from fully following Jesus. We become
concerned that Jesus may ask us to forsake comfort for calling so often we
resist following too closely. We settle for settled instead of seeking
significance.
God is not a
God who settles. God is a God that has something significant for you to do. God
has a place where the Kingdom of God will be made more real, the people of God
made more passionate, and work of God gain more ground if you will live out
your divine calling. Are you ready to let go of whatever it is that holds you
back in order to fully live a life that matters?
Gracious God help me to be fearlessly faithful.
Give me the courage to lay aside anything thats in the way and follow you
completely, in the name of the one who gave up heaven to die for me, Jesus, I
pray, AMEN.
Reflection
Questions
There are a few
others in the Bible who resisted their calling. Look up Barak, Samson, and
Balaam. How do these stories relate to your life?
Has there been
a time when you were tempted to walk away from your divine calling and give up
on striving to live a life that matters?
What is God calling you to that you have been reluctant to admit?
What is the cost God is asking you to pay that seems unbelievable?
Today's Tuesday Text is from a brief devotional I'm working on to hopefully be ready for the New Year, January 2019. Keep an eye out for release information. We are hoping it will come in a print and digital version.