Matthew 19 Another day, a man stopped Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" 17 Jesus said, "Why do you question me about what's good? God is the One who is good. If you want to enter the life of God, just do what he tells you." 18 The man asked, "What in particular?" Jesus said, "Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, 19 honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as you do yourself." 20The young man said, "I've done all that. What's left?" 21 "If you want to give it all you've got," Jesus replied, "go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me." 22 That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crestfallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn't bear to let go.
Not to long ago I had someone in our church come up to me and say, "We should do this and this,etc" I listened intently and thought to myself, "They are really saying they want me to do this." It's kind of like they were searching on Netflix for a movie that caught their interest and it wasn't in the instant menu and they were telling Netflix, "make it happen for me." After listening for awhile, I said I would see what I could do and in the interest of putting them off until I could think it over, I wrote it down. They seemed satisfied that I had heard their "wishes" and had responded with a possible solution. I noticed a sense of satisfaction on their face when they left, but inside I thought, "why don't they ever come up to me with a burden to give all their life to Christ and thus undertake a ministry themselves to further God's work, not their agenda."
Thus, the rich young ruler, and all the baggage he was bringing to Jesus is seen. When he tried to use his "good works" to impress Him, it was seen. When He showed he had done just about everything religious, it was seen. When He came face to face with the reality of really "following" Jesus and all it would entail, it was seen, and understood by them and us. When he asked, "What's left?" Jesus used this time to share what following Him was all about. He got the point. He was holding on tight to a lot of things and couldn't bear to let it go. He walked away........
The point is, Christ is calling all who want bear His Name. His call is clear, and undeniable. His call is challenging, but very exhilarating when we commit and follow. He isn't beating around the bush when He calls. He gets right to the point. Whatever you are holding on to more than you are holding on to Christ, has to go. That's the point. Point - A tapered, sharp end of a weapon for battle. We are called to battle with one weapon, The Word of God. It is God's Point!!! It is our strength!! Allow the sharpness of the Word of God to reintroduce you to a new more directional commitment to Christ. Don't go away rejected because you can't give up the temporal for the eternal!! Get the point?
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, ofboth joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
The Pilgrimage continues......
David Warren
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