then Jesus, beholding him, loved him

then Jesus, beholding him, loved him

Mark 10:21-22 brings us the conclusion of a conversation between Jesus and the 'rich, young ruler' who sought Jesus for the way to eternal life.  The man seemed to follow the scriptures well enough, did the 'right' things.  What more would God ask?

"Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.  And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions."  (KJV)

The answer to the question...  everything.    We serve a God who gives all, and asks all.  And is not in the business of negotiating or compromising to suit our reluctance to give him every area of our lives.  In fact, we read that the man went away grieved, and there is no mention (in any of the gospel accounts) of Jesus trying to stop him, calling out "oh wait... let's just talk about this..."   ... "how can we make you a Christian today?" "...just do this, and this, and I'll overlook the rest.  Part of your life is fine."   Jesus wasn't concerned with quantity and numbers to validate his ministry.  He wasn't concerned with creating casual, compromising Christians.  He sought (and seeks) those who will give everything for Him.  "Take up the cross, and follow me" He says.   We should know that the cross at that time didn't mean all that it means to us now.  Currently, when we see a cross we know it is a symbol of hope, truth, salvation, forgiveness, Jesus.  But at this point in time He hadn't been crucified.  The cross meant none of those things.   At that time to speak of a cross (and to take up and carry one) meant only one thing:   death.  To die.   A death penalty for criminals.

So, Jesus asks us to take up our cross... to follow him.  To die to ourselves.  To surrender our everything: our bodies, our mind, our will, our choices, our money, our lifestyles, our love lives, our sexuality, our relationships.  To crucify our lives and lifestyles for a resurrected, pure, holy, blessed one.  To radically live and love for Him.   And we have learned that without Jesus' death, there would have been no glorious resurrection.  And the servant is not greater than his lord (John 15:20).  Speaking of individual areas of our lives, can we then expect a glorious resurrection of a pure, holy, blessed lifestyle, mind, love life, relationship, etc. unless we first lay it down for Him?

The other thing that stuck out to me about this passage in Mark are the first 6 words:  ..... "Then Jesus beholding him loved him."    Jesus shared with this man what he lacked.  Certainly doesn't seem like an encouraging thing to tell someone.  But I was caught by how the scripture says that Jesus beheld the young man and loved him and then he told him what he lacked.... what he needed to surrender and give up to follow him.     So too does God behold and love us exceedingly - and as an act of that love He exposes areas of our lives that are lacking.  Areas which we need to give up, leave behind, surrender.   It wouldn't be love if He didn't give us and lead us to what was the absolute best: Himself.   It wouldn't be love if he didn't give us and lead us to life and away from death.   Wouldn't allowing us to walk straight into darkness and death - away from Him - without saying anything or attempting to guide us out of it be a loveless act?   If God compromised simply to make it 'easier' to be a Christian it wouldn't be an act of love at all.  Quite the opposite.

All for now.  Currently reading and being blessed by the book of Luke.

THE JOURNEY

THE JOURNEY

It's interesting to think about what exactly it meant to be a disciple of a rabbi in the context of the time Jesus walked this earth.  First, we know that a disciple didn't choose to be one.  Rather, he was chosen (John 15:16).  Inspected by the rabbi himself, it first had to be determined whether or not this young man had what it took to be his student.  You see, the goal of the disciple wasn't merely to learn the ways and teachings of their rabbi. But rather, to absorb every word of their rabbi.  To follow so closely that they were covered by the very dust which was kicked up by their rabbi's feet.  To be like their rabbi.

As disciples of our Rabbi - Jesus - we strive to absorb His every word. To be like Him. That our words would be as His, that our lives would look like His.  It's no accident that we have been given four accounts of His earthly ministry.  Accounts which describe in some detail the things He said and the way He acted.  

We have had pressed upon our hearts to read one gospel account a week together.  Continually.  That we may lean into our Rabbi's own words and actions.  And learn to be more like him.  What better way than to continually immerse ourselves in his own words, teachings, and life story?   We'll be writing our reflections and thoughts (as sort of an e-journal) as we read a gospel each week.  The purpose of this is, in general, to:

1)  Help us process what we have read,

2)  As we continue to rotate through each book (of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John), to share what God has brought to our attention and laid on our hearts.

3)  Help keep us accountable.

Our prayer is that perhaps, God willing, He'd find pleasure in speaking to others through this gospel journey.  We have begun this blog at the end of week 2, as we finish Mark and move on to Luke.   Enjoy and many blessings to you.