by admin | August 20th, 2009
Read: Matthew 19:16-30
Wow. What an inspiring passage. I relate to this so much. A rich young man (well, maybe not the rich part) but definitely the young part. He’s really eager to follow Jesus and desperately wants to know HOW to serve God.
Jesus basically tells him to follow the commandments. The kid says, “I follow all of those already”. (Obviously, Jesus knew he would say that.) Then Jesus basically says, ok smarty pants… “Go sell all your possesions and give it to the poor. Then come follow me.” It was a simple, yet profound invitation. It was radical and extreme in it’s requirements.
The young man couldn’t swallow it. He walked away discouraged. I wonder what became him? Did he still love God? I’m sure. But he probably never reached His full potential.
I don’t want that to happen to me. This thing is so simple, yet so hard at the same time. Just give EVERYTHING you have to Jesus, and live to please him only. If we all did that, this world would be completely transformed! It would start looking more like heaven and less like earth.
it feels like the concept of Following Jesus is too vast to comprehend. so it’s easier to just bypass and do what we’re told. oh to break the hold on us and be free to truly understand this INCREDIBLE GOD!
Very good point Jack. So many people don’t understand this. I’ll admit, it is a very hard thing to do. We need to remember that our God is bigger than anything we could ever do and that he wants us to follow him all of our days.
So true. God owns everything anyway. Why do we continue to act as if it is ours? He does so much better with our stuff anyway. Yes, it is difficult to give everything we are and have to God, but if we can, the peace that comes with that is amazing.
In the last couple years I have had to give God my fear of storms from a bad, past experience that I had and lost about everything I owned back in 2003. It was a very hard thing to go through. But you know, God restored my “stuff” and took care of me, and He has brought me so much to His remembrance that He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and a sound mind. If I don’t give even my fears to Him, how can I please Him? He wants us to trust Him with everything in our being. He can be trusted.
Eric