Sorry to all for the lack of posts lately, I had a big essay week, but its all over so hopefully I’ll be back on the ball. A quick comment, check out the comments on the post below on homosexuality. There are some interesting conversations going on that you might be interested in.
Everyone knows the story of the rich man who Christ tells to go sell all his possessions. (Matt 19) I was pondering about this story for a bit and I noticed something that I hadn’t seen before. A rich man comes up to Christ and asks him what he must do to obtain eternal life. Christ answers a question that I don’t even think that the man asked. he responded “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” I don’t see the man asking what is good. Nevertheless, I’m sure Christ knows better than me what was really underlying in his question. Christ usually does this anyways, he starts answering questions that were never asked. It seems as if this man may have thought that he could get into heaven by being good.
Jesus quickly corrects him and tells him that only God is good. Now the rich man gets a little more specific. He wants to know which commandments he needs to keep to obtain eternal life. Christ points out a few of them and the rich man responds saying that he has kept them all and wants to know what else he is lacking. I find it odd again that the rich man would ask what he is lacking. What made him think that he was lacking at all? He must have begun to understand that there was more that just following a few commands involved. He knew there was something more to getting into heaven.
Jesus answers “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Once again Jesus start by not even answering his question. The rich man wasn’t asking how to become complete. He wanted to just to live forever. Christ corrects him and tells him that it’s more than just getting eternal life, it’s about being complete, and then when you are complete you will have treasure in heaven. The rich man put his head to the ground and walked away in disappointment. His questions were barely answered, he wasn’t getting eternal life and everything that he had worked so hard for all his life he had to get rid of.
I find this ‘rich man thinking’ all to prominent in the believer today. We all want to have eternal life, to get into heaven, fire insurance if you will, but don’t want o give up our life now to do it. We have this concept that being saved is being saved from hell. It’s more than that Christ tells us. Being saved is being saved from a life that leads nowhere NOW. Being saved means that you are free to live a complete life in Christ and that selling your possessions will become natural or not a big deal at all because Christ makes you complete and not your possessions.
Christians need to start focusing on their salvation as something that effects who they are here and now. It isn’t just a v.i.p. ticket past the pearly gates. It’s meant to be a complete life the entire way. Thank-God that our life will not go to waste and that we can live the lives that we were meant to live through Christ, because we certainly can’t live a life of fullness on our own.
“With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”