When a couple falls in love, they are often willing to do anything for the person they love, and to make any sacrifice for them. They will spend their money, spend their time, anything for their beloved. Sometimes other friends or family might begin to feel forgotten with the amount of devotion given to their love. It is similar for when we have a consuming interest, hobby, or passion about something. Many people will spend a great deal of time, and sometimes even a lot of money pursuing their hobby or passion, often at the expense of other important things. How about with God? What are we willing to sacrifice or give up for Him? That is a question that a young man faced in our Scripture for today.
As our Scripture in Mark’s Gospel begins, a young man came up to Jesus. He was a religious man, and wanted to be sure that he would go to heaven. So he asked Jesus what he needed to do to find eternal life (vs. 17). This young man was on the wrong track. No one can earn salvation by good works. It is a free gift we receive when we accept Jesus as our Savior (Romans 10:9-10, 13). To show this man that keeping the Law completely without failing was not possible, Jesus began listing all of the Ten Commandments (vs. 18-20). There is no eternal life found in keeping the commandments. No one can keep every law in the Old Testament perfectly. Even though this man felt he had basically kept the Law, his soul knew otherwise, and he knew that he had a void that could only be filled by coming to Jesus.
Jesus, knowing all things, knew the heart of this man. He knew that he had put his wealth and possessions ahead of God, had basically made an idol out of his belongings, thus breaking the first commandment. Jesus told him to give up his wealth and belongings, and to come and follow Him, as true salvation can only be found in Jesus Christ (vs. 21). Jesus told the young man that salvation is in the Cross, in His death, alone. It is only by and through accepting the atoning death of Jesus on the Cross that we can find eternal life.
When the man heard what Jesus said, he turned and went away (vs. 22). This man’s attitude towards his money and riches made him unable to turn his whole heart and life over to God. Jesus was not making giving or poverty a requirement for salvation, but instead, exposing this man’s heart. He loved his possessions more than anything.
The disciples were very surprised with the response Jesus gave (vs. 23-26). The culture of that day considered riches to be God’s blessing and poverty His disapproval. However, Jesus indicated that riches can keep some people from seeing their need for God and a Savior, and thus from giving their life over to Him. It is not the riches that constitute the sin, but the attitude towards them. Instead, we need to use our possessions to serve others. We must not let anything we have keep us from following Jesus.
Jesus proceeded to tell His disciples, and us as well, that salvation can only be found by following Him, not through any works we do, or through any riches one may have (vs. 27-31). Whether rich or poor, it is impossible to be saved without God. Only through Jesus is that possible. Everything must be placed secondary to Him. Anyone who gives up something valuable for Jesus’s sake will be repaid 100 times over, though not necessarily in the same form (vs. 29-30). No matter where God has placed us, we’re called to daily surrender our lives to Him, obey His call to follow Him, and serve Him with our talents and resources.
Faith in Jesus calls us to follow Him in this life, giving our all to His kingdom. The man in our Scripture today was saddened by Jesus’s response, and went away. For him, Jesus’s advice to sell everything, give away the proceeds, and follow Him was a deal breaker. Is there a deal breaker for us? Is there something we can’t bear to give up to follow Jesus? We cannot gain the kingdom of God on our own terms, which this man wanted.
I close with the words of the old-time hymn “I Surrender All”.
All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live.
I surrender all, I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.
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