[ Taste And See ]
Smiles & Victory at Every Turn!Go and sell all that thou hast
2007-04-21
Jesus told the rich young ruler to go and sell all that he had, give to the poor and follow Him. Some may think that that was a bit harsh. Why be so hard on the man? He was doing good, following the commandments, wanting the right things like going to Heaven, so why did the Lord tell him to do these things?
I was reading this passage in Mark 10 and one day and a small portion of it stood out. It said, "Then Jesus beholding him loved him" and I wondered, "why is that there? Obviously Jesus loves him, He loves everyone." I asked why and God helped me understand. First, this man came to Jesus to find the way to eternal life. He came to the right place. He understood, deep down, that he needed something from God to get to Heaven other than the commandments. So, here is this man eager to hear about going to Heaven. Second, Jesus realized He had to tell this man something that he needed to hear and that it was not going to be received well. Jesus knew that He had to tell him to do something that he was likely not going to do. Jesus wanted this man to go to Heaven and the Bible voiced this love of Christ right here in the text. "Then Jesus beholding loved him." Jesus, looking at him, loved him, realized how this was going to affect his soul and then told him what God wanted him to hear.
The point: God knew He had a hard thing to tell this man but, in love, He still told him. Jesus didn't tell this to him to run him off. He did not tell him this because he hated rich people. Jesus loved him. Even though Jesus knew that this might cause him to go away sad, He still had to tell him. Even though it was a hard saying, even though it was something that was do or die, he still loved him. He didn't want him to perish but it was what he needed. It was what he needed to have eternal life.
There's an illustration that clearly states the love of God calling out to "live by faith." This is what Jesus was telling this man: "Live by faith in Me." Don't trust in riches, or great possessions but trust in the Living God.
THE CLIFF HANGER
A man named Jack was walking along a steep cliff one day when he accidentally got too close to the edge and fell. On the way down he grabbed a branch, which temporarily stopped his fall. He looked down and, to his horror, saw that the canyon fell straight down for more than a thousand feet. He couldn't hang onto the branch forever, and there was no way for him to climb up the steep wall of the cliff. So Jack began yelling for help, hoping that someone passing by would hear him and lower a rope or something. HELP! HELP! Is anyone up there?
"HELP!" He yelled for a long time, but no one heard him. He was about to give up when he heard a voice.
"Jack, Jack. Can you hear me?"
"Yes, yes! I can hear you. I'm down here!"
"I can see you, Jack. Are you all right?"
"Yes, but who are you, and where are you?
"I am the Lord, Jack. I'm everywhere."
"The Lord? You mean, GOD?"
"That's Me."
"God, please help me! I promise if, you'll get me down from here, I'll stop sinning. I'll be a really good person. I'll serve You for the rest of my life."
Easy on the promises, Jack. Let's get you off from there; then we can talk." "Now, here's what I want you to do. Listen carefully."
"I'll do anything, Lord. Just tell me what to do."
"Okay. Let go of the branch."
"What?"
"I said, let go of the branch." Just trust Me. Let go."
There was a long silence. Finally Jack yelled, "HELP! HELP! IS ANYONE
ELSE UP THERE?"
Have you ever felt like Jack? We say that we want to know the will of God, but when we find out what it is, we can't handle it. Sounds too scary--too difficult. We decide to look elsewhere. When He says, "Let go of the things that stand between you and Me, and trust Me with your life," it sounds pretty scary. But when we let go, we find freedom and safety in His hands."
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