The more and more I read about Jesus. . .the more I am completely captivated by Him. Seriously, there is no end to my amazement. . . I am in awe of how he thinks with such creativity, how he acts with such authority, and how he interacts with such compassion. He is staggeringly brilliant. His grace is deep, persistent, and disarming. Reading about the life Jesus led on earth simply takes my breath away.
What fascinates me the most are conversations that Jesus has with ordinary people like me. His intentional choice of words in every situation communicates so much about his focus and priorities. These interactions are a bottomless well of insight into the mind of Christ; the very mind of God.
If I had been wandering around during the time Jesus lived, what would he have said to me? how would that conversation go down? When I look at the book of Mark, Chapter 10, I find a man that I can truly identify with. He approaches Jesus and asks what he should do. The conversation goes like this:
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’“
“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said.“Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again,“Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.
My heart aches when I read this, because I can relate to the rich man. I do good things, but when it comes to giving everything, I am bound to hesitate. I don’t want to be the man (or woman) that walks away from Jesus, sad because I cannot bring myself to let go of all the things that make me comfortable.
I don’t want to be that guy.
Dubbs
