“Sell everything”
21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell
all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure
in heaven. Then come, follow me.
We are told in Mark’s gospel that Jesus tells this man what
he tells him because he loves him.
At first it would appear that Jesus doesn’t love him. He doesn’t give the man what he wants. But is love about always getting what
you want from others? Certainly
not! But if we are not careful, we
may live as if it is, especially when it comes to our relationship with God.
Just like the paralytic we see in Matthew 9, this man has
found his identity in something other than Jesus. The paralytic says, “If I could just walk! I would never complain again, never ask
for anything again.” Jesus shows
him he’s not going deep enough. He
needs to have his sins forgiven more than he needs to walk. Similarly, the rich man needs to find
his identity in Jesus. He is
self-righteous in thinking he has kept all of the commandments. He loves his money more than Jesus
& so he walks away sad. Jesus
is showing him that what he thinks he really needs, he doesn’t need, and what
he thinks he doesn’t need is really what he needs. He doesn’t really need his stuff and he thinks he doesn’t
need Jesus. But he needs Jesus
most desperately, and doesn’t need his stuff.
What is it that we are finding our identity in besides
Jesus? What is it that we can’t
imagine doing without if he asked us for it? What is it that we say, “If I could just have ________?” If it is not Jesus, he bids us to give
it up for something better, namely, him.
There are a million things we can find our identity in. Many things clamoring for our
attention. Many things demanding
our attention. Many gods vying for
our worship. And there is in the
midst of them the calm, quiet, still small voice of Jesus saying, “Come to me
and find everything you need or ever wanted.”
Why is it so hard to believe that Jesus has everything we
need? Because he his not flashy or
fast or beautiful in appearance?
He cannot be physically seen, touched, or experienced like wealth,
success, or entertainment.
Whatever our hang up are, Jesus in the gospels, invites us into
relationship with him. Who or what
will we choose?
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