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.” Matthew 10:21
A
wealthy young man came to Jesus asking what he must do to inherit eternal
life. When asked, he readily professed
that he had kept all the commandments land down by Moses since he was a
child. However, when Jesus asked him to
give up all he had and give to the poor the man balked. What have we given up to serve Christ? Are we truly required to give everything
away?
I believe, rather than giving everything away, the point is
more that we are to give our hearts away.
If our heart is as it should be toward the Lord, then everything else
will follow suit. We will begin to make
godly decisions and seek less of what this world has to offer. If you feel compelled by the spirit to shed yourself
of earthly possessions and follow Christ, then by no means am I saying you
shouldn’t. That’s between you and God,
however, I don’t think that is what God requires. Total commitment and devotion to the Lord is
what is required.
The rich man wanted to be able to follow written laws set down
in stone to achieve heaven, not realizing that it was God’s grace that offered
forgiveness and a spirit-driven life that led to eternity with the Lord. He missed the point. We are to offer our full allegiance to
God. We are to commit ourselves to
seeking His will in our lives and not our own.
Selling out for Christ’s sake so the world can see with their own eyes
what a difference God can make in people’s lives.
The wealthy man was downcast and left the same as he
came. We never need to. Offer yourself up to God daily as a living
sacrifice. Start off your day with
prayer and worship to your Lord. It
could be 5 minutes of uninterrupted time with God. That alone can change the course you take
during your day. Until next time, walk
with the King and be a blessing!
