To Hold on is to Hold Back

One of the many things that I love about Jesus is that He is the ultimate demonstration of humility. As the Scripture begins, Jesus is approached  by a man who refers to him as “Good Teacher”, and He is asked what one must do to inherit eternal life. If you haven’t already gathered, Jesus loves to answer a question with a question. He is constantly challenging us to go deeper. “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked.  Only God is truly good.” (Mark 10:18) Although Jesus represents God in human form as blameless, upright, and Holy, He still uses this opportunity to point His goodness toward our Heavenly Father. The conviction in this is how often do we take the credit for our goodness? I think that is fair to say that as part of the human condition that we all need some degree of validation in our lives. The question isn’t so much IN the validation as to WHERE are we being validated.  Are we seeking the approval of the world or of God?  

I believe that this man approached Jesus with an expectation in place.  If we read deeper into the passage I think that it is clear to see that this man was expecting validation and confirmation through his own personal lens. Does this sound familiar? The rich man  posed his question from his own perception of goodness and in expectation that he had met the requirements and “passed the test.” Jesus will never co-sign our “version” of goodness, for this would completely invalidate His purpose for our lives.    

The Scripture then goes on to say that Jesus felt genuine love for the man which leads me to believe that there is a BUT coming. As if Jesus were to say, “yes, you are following the commandments BUT are you truly following ME? The Pharisees (the religious leaders) not only followed the Law, but added on to it to the degree that it was nearly impossible to uphold. To put it plainly, the more rules that were followed, the closer they THOUGHT they were to God. They allowed the pride of being compliant blind them from God’s will and His heart for people.

Now let us take a moment to examine the physical posture of the rich man, as the Scripture states that the man knelt down. Kneeling is a physical act of reverence, obedience, and submission. While our physical posture may indicate that we have surrendered, our hearts may speak a message of confliction. Spiritual hypocrisy is the result when our physical, outward appearance fails to align with the posturing of our heart. “And so the Lord says these people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  And their worship is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.  Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites with amazing wonders.” (Isaiah 29:13-14)

So the question that we are left with is simple, yet one of the most difficult at the same time. What is it that you have yet to surrender to the Lord to go from being in the crowd to being a true follower of Jesus?  “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)  What are you so desperately clinging to that is hindering the fullness of God’s will over your life? For some of us it may be pride, relationships, addictions, or lust. For others it may be instant gratification of the world or the inability to forgive past hurt and trauma. The word follow means “To go or come after (a person or thing preceding ahead); move or travel behind.” To be a follower requires more action and less consumption. Follow Jesus and gain life.

Prayer:
Lord, we thank You for Your presence in our lives.  Lord, we ask to be more than just consumers of Your goodness. Just like the rich man, we ask that You expose the deepest recesses of our hearts. Grant us the strength to follow after You in the fullness of Your love, regardless of the cost. Give us just a glimpse of understanding of what truly awaits us as we travel this journey hand in hand with You. We love You and we thank You for Your ultimate sacrifice. In Your mighty name we pray. Amen.