Letting Nothing Become A Stumbling Block

Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler

¹⁸ Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
¹⁹ So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. ²⁰ You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’"
²¹ And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”
²² So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
²³ But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

With God All Things Are Possible

²⁴ And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
²⁶ And those who heard it said, “Who then can be saved?”
²⁷ But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
²⁸ Then Peter said, “See, we have left all and followed You.”
²⁹ So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, ³⁰who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

I've been thinking about this passage lately, and what it means to my life. On the surface, I think it has been misinterpreted sometimes to mean that riches are not acceptable. That we need to be poor and penniless to go to Heaven.

Reading the passage however, especially in v 29-30, Jesus explains that we must be willing to leaving everything behind for the sake of the kingdom. We have a life that we used to live without Christ, but when we became Christians, we have given over our lives to God in everything. Our orders do not come from our own will and desires, but instead have been put under the Lordship of Christ.

Our salvation doesn't come from works - it doesn't matter what they are, so simply giving away money isn't the "trick" to get to heaven. Man cannot do it on his own (v27). But each of us have a propensity to build up our own kingdoms here on Earth and develop affinities to things that we cannot live without. For the rich young ruler, it was his money. He could not let it go because he ultimately identified himself with his riches. For others they could be ultimately influenced by their parents or their peers. If they are unable to let them go when the Lord calls, they are not really following Him.

Now that I'm working again, I'm enjoying it and the pressure of finding a job in this uncertain market has eased (but it hardly fades way with the threat of job loss at any time). Budget-wise as a family we have been thinking about some of the expenses that we've held off on. A minivan - maybe a house. Each of those things are not necessities, but preparing for a larger family and establishing a home would be nice.

However, having those things doesn't preclude the chance that the Lord may call us to do something radically different and follow His call to a new place where we might have to start all over again. My employment is NOT my identity. The place I live or the car I drive is NOT my identity. Those things are ultimately rubbish when placed against the upward call of Christ Jesus (Phil 3:7-8,14).

The danger for us Christians is not obtaining possessions, but is in our ability to let go of them when we encounter Christ walking in a different direction. It can be anything (even the smallest possession that we are asked to leave behind), but if it serves to impede us, it is a stumbling block and we are no longer following Him. And as the call of Christ gets farther and farther away, where is our faith? It atrophies until we get back on the path that Christ calls us to.

For my family, moving to Southern California was the fulfillment for a calling from God. Initially, we really didn't know anything except that we needed to leave Seattle and come here. We had no promises of success or employment. We only had a reliance on God and even for the first 5 months, we were simply spending our savings - it wasn't an easy thing - yet we had peace that we were walking with the Lord.

Our faith and family bonds grew stronger as we focused in on developing our family bonds together (the first few weeks of my wife and I being together 24/7 were tough!) - and I can honestly say that I hardly recognize the people that we were in Seattle. We were settled and contented in our small kingdom with the materialistic dreams we were aiming for.

But the threat to return to that is always there. It must be guarded against through faithful living and a desire to follow Him daily. That is still a challenge today as things have been busy at work. How little time I have spent in prayer and abiding with Him lately!

Lord Jesus, this passage today was a warning for my family and I. You led us here to develop and recharge our faith, and there is always the chance that we will atrophy back to where we came. Let us not do that in Jesus name. Let us never be shy to fall on our knees and simply submit to Your will - whatever that is and whatever it may entail. We know that we may never have a house, but it doesn't matter. As long as we are near to You and doing what we have been called to do, we are home. In the name of Jesus, Amen.