A little give and take

"come, follow Me"

Matthew 19:21

Do you know the parable of the rich young ruler?   It's in Matthew 19.  He came to Jesus asking what he needed to do to have eternal life.  After he assured Jesus that he had kept all of the commandments since his youth, Jesus replied, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

Now, this particular account in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, is the one instance where we see Jesus telling anyone that their possessions are getting in the way of their salvation. And I think that's because it's not the case with everyone.  After all, money is not a problem.  But love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.  That's from 1 Timothy 6:10, which also says that money causes some to stray from their faith.   Apparently that was the case with this young man, because after Jesus' words, "he went away sorrowful."

Now, how would you have felt if those words had been directed to you?  I know for some, it wouldn't even faze them.  Missionaries, for instance, are used to living with very little in the way of material goods.  So that would probably not be as much of a hardship for them as for others.

I got to thinking about all this the other day, when I overheard someone using the phrase, "I will take all you have to give."  I thought about what means to desire God's will in your life; to want to live for Him.  And all of a sudden, I imagined those words being spoken by Jesus.  And it seemed like a warning.  Not ominous, or frightening, but a sobering statement of fact.  This is what we are agreeing to, when we acknowledge Him as our Savior and Lord.

He will empty us.

So what is it you need to surrender?  What will He take from you?  Money?  Security?  Health?  Comfort?  If you are willing, He will call you into a life of challenge. 

But He's gracious.  Gentle.  If you aren't willing, He won't push.  He didn't with the rich young man.  He didn't call him back urgently, saying, "Okay, okay, how about half?"  The choice was his to make.

Just as it's yours.

~ "Now may the God of hope fill you

with all joy and peace in believing,

that you may abound in hope

by the power of the Holy Spirit" ~

Romans 15:13