“Then Jesus,
looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘One
thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give
to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come,
take up the cross, and follow Me.’
But he was sad at this word, and went away grieved, for he
had great possessions” (Mark 10:21-22)
Some decades ago, I moved my family
from Southern California to Tucson, Arizona. A large moving
van was needed because everything in the three bedroom house
and garage went with us. Some years later, after financial
downturns, we moved from Tucson to Phoenix, Arizona, about
120 miles to the north. This time, everything fit into a
U-Haul truck because we had less of the possessions that
came with us from California. Then, after the divorce,
which separated me from a lot of our “stuff,” I was offered
a job in the San Francisco Bay area. A U-Haul trailer did
the job.
There was one more move when the
organization near San Francisco was no longer able to
sustain a Managing Director – Back to Southern California!
There were many decisions before departure, including the
gift of three boxes of my “precious” books to a church
library, and there were other hard decisions, like when I
gave away most of my furniture and nearly filled an
apartment complex dumpster with items dear to me. Now I was
ready for the drive to Long Beach, but this time with just a
carload.
Recently I unzipped a suitcase that had
not been opened since the trip. It was intriguing to open
that suitcase, but disappointing to look inside. Surely
after all those hard decisions in San Jose, there would be
TREASURES inside that case! But when I opened it, the
suitcase was full of junk. The clothes were out of style,
the books were no longer interesting, and the portable
electric typewriter was useless because computers are much
better. Even the suitcase itself was damaged and out of
date.
We work most of our lives for
possessions that are going to be lost at some point through
inevitable circumstances such as our departure from this
world. Why do we hang onto them? - Sentiment? Yes, that’s
part of it, but it’s much more, for we base our “worth” on
the possessions we manage to obtain.
How much better to simply GIVE, instead
of this insidious need to always HAVE something or other.
Recently we were moving my mother out of Avalon at Cerritos,
an assisted living facility. She is unable to stay there
because she fell a number of times and is considered a “high
fall risk.”
During the move, a lady named Janice
came to my mother’s room and talked with us. We originally
met her on the day my mother’s things were moved into the
facility and she was always pleasant. This time, we learned
that Jan moved to Avalon at Cerritos, not because she had
to, but because the Lord had spoken to her heart. These are
the words reported by Jan as from the Lord: “I
am sending a lot of my dearest children to this place to
spend their last days. I have sent you here to comfort
them.”
And she comforted my mother at that
moment. Jan learned our circumstances and then made her way
back to her room at the other end of the facility, returning
somewhat later with gifts. Included for my mom were: a
basket of artificial fall flowers, a teddy bear, a soft dog
doll to comfort my mother because she cannot be with her
dog; and a smaller doll which will be for Christmas. Jan
left her previous life and home and went to Avalon at
Cerritos in order to comfort others.
A “call” is extended, in some form or
another, to every one who trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are exhorted (encouraged) to: “Comfort
the faint hearted, uphold the weak” and “be
patient with all” (1 Thessalonians 5:14). That verse
also says that we are to “Warn
those who are unruly,” but there are lots of people
who like to “warn” others
and it will not be our emphasis at this moment. If you are
led to “warn” people, go
ahead, but the lack around us is that we often fail to “comfort”
one another.
In our Scripture for today, a wealthy
young man had come to the Lord Jesus with the desire that he
might “inherit eternal life”
(Mark 10:17). Jesus is the One who makes answers to that
prayer possible, and He told the man to keep God’s
commandments (Mark 10:19). Jesus specifically chose four of
them; all of which relate to our treatment of other people –
He was telling the young man to treat others well.
The young man thought he had kept those
commands and told Jesus so (verse 20), but the Lord saw the
man’s deep need, and advised him to give up his many
possessions; distributing the proceeds to the poor (verse
21). The man was to comfort other people by providing for
them.
To have lived a life of wealth and then
give it all up, does cause distress. The correct solution
in life CAN include personal suffering, but when the Lord
beckons us down a certain path, we should go; even when it
is difficult. He therefore told the young man to “take
up the cross,” which is a way of telling him
essentially to “die” to this world in order to become fully
alive in another. He said, “follow
Me” (verse 21), which is the greatest honor and
privilege that can be extended to a human being.
Have you thought about that? All that
you are doing or have done; all that you would like to do,
no matter how noble it may seem, is less than your answer to
the simple request of Jesus, who is saying: “follow
Me.” All that we acquire will belong to someone
else. Our important relationships will end. Our influence
will pass away. But if you say “yes” to Him, you will know
the joy of the Lord – forever!
The rich young man “went
away grieved, for he had great possessions” (Mark
10:22). Janice of Avalon at Cerritos listened to very
similar words. She was asked to leave her home, trust in
Him, and go comfort others. The decision of the young man
left him “sad.” Janice’s
decision, on the other hand, had a different outcome, for in
her we see the joy of the Lord. He is saying to you, “follow Me.” What will your answer be?
Lord Jesus, we have listened to Your
Word and we say “yes” to Your call. We trust in You now.
Thank You, Lord. In Jesus Name. Amen.
