Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” – Matt. 19:21
A lot has happened in my faith journey since accepting Jesus in my heart. I’ve gotten to know a lot of people and I’m familiar with their stories about how they too came to saving faith in Christ. And sadly, I’ve also gotten to know a few who have walked away from their faith altogether, and did so over a lot less than what the rich young man was unwilling to give up to be His disciple.
Not once did Jesus ever beat around the bush about what the costs would be to become His disciple. Over and over He reminded The Twelve that they would face persecution, injustice, imprisonment and even death because of their loyalty to Him.
The truth is that Jesus does, in fact, ask much of those who want to follow Him. And not just the “easy” things like: don’t murder, don’t covet, don’t lie, don’t steal, honor your mother and father…
But the hard things too: be generous with your time and treasure; love your enemies and forgive those who’ve hurt you; don’t complain; don’t gossip; put Me above everything else in your life…
I don’t know about you, but there are times when I’m not very generous. Sometimes I really struggle with loving my neighbor. My enemies? “Jesus, do you know the things they’ve said about me? The lies they’ve told about me? They don’t care about me, and yet you say that I’m to love and pray for them?
And complaining? “Even when my electricity has been out for several days and I have no heat or air conditioning, no running water? Or my boss cancels my vacation with my family because someone else can’t show up for work? You want me to take that on the chin and not grumble about it?”
What about giving Him my first fruits instead of my leftovers?!
Yeah, these things are hard. And some days they seem almost impossible. But Jesus says we’re not to be like everyone else, we’re to be different. And if we truly want to follow Him, this is the life we choose to live. He goes to the top of our priority list. And not just when it’s convenient, not just when things are going according to plan, but every single day – this is the mark we’re to aim for.
But here’s the deal: He grows us. He tests us and stretches us. His Spirit works inside us to transform us, and we migrate from the attitude of this is how I should live to this is how I want to live. We become familiar with what gratitude really is.
And what He offers us is so much greater than what the world could ever give us. And it’s not temporary, but forever. His treasure awaiting us in heaven, His peace while we’re still here on earth, and the immense joy of knowing Him as our Lord and Savior and having a personal relationship with Him… knowing that He provides everything we need, and trusting Him to stand before God on that glorious day and hear Him say, “He’s mine, He’s with Me. Well done, My good and faithful servant! Welcome home!”
I’ll close with what Dietrich Bonhoeffer had to say about the rich young man:
“When He was challenged by Jesus to accept a life of voluntary poverty, the rich young man knew he was faced with the simple alternative of obedience or disobedience. When Levi was called from the receipt of custom and Peter from his nets, there was no doubt that Jesus meant business. Both of them were to leave everything and follow. Again, when Peter was called to walk on the rolling sea, he had to get up and risk his life. Only one thing was required in each case-to rely on Christ’s word, and cling to it as offering greater security than all the securities in the world.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
Former Blackout Artist 