What Will You Sacrifice?
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.”
At this the man’s face fell. He went
away sad, because he had great wealth.
– Mark 10:21-22
We want to follow Jesus until it costs us something.
We want eternal life but we don’t want to make sacrifices on this earth to make
that happen. We want a life of faith but we don’t want to make any changes in
how we live.
This man wanted to inherit eternal life. He followed
the commandments. He assured Jesus he’d done that since he was a child. But he
wasn’t willing to give up his possessions, his great wealth, to follow Jesus.
It’s not that there’s anything wrong with material
blessings. The challenge comes when we value those things more than Jesus. It’s
there that things become idols, whether we realize or acknowledge it or not.
This man wanted to do right, to live a good life, to
follow Jesus. He thought he had. It’s as though he was coming to Jesus for
reassurance that he was good enough for heaven. He wasn’t.
The sad truth is that none of us are good enough for
heaven. We are all sinners. We are all too dirty to kneel before Almighty God.
The only way to enter His Presence is to be washed by the blood of Christ. And
that, my friends, will always cost us something.
What are you willing to give up for Jesus? Are you
willing to tithe 10 percent, whether you think you can afford it or not? Are you
willing to trust God with what you need even when you can’t see beyond today?
Are you willing to sacrifice your time and money to go
on a mission trip or volunteer at a shelter? Are you willing to give up your
well-deserved day off to help an elderly neighbor with yard work he can no
longer do and can not afford to hire out? Just how much are you willing to give
of yourself to be the hands and feet of Jesus?
We talk good. We point fingers. We write a check. We
volunteer when something interests us or when we will benefit from it. But to
sacrificially serve Jesus? Well, we’re not so sure about that. But His Word
says that we must deny ourselves. We must take up His cross. We must be willing
to get dirty, to step out in faith, to help those who aren’t pretty and clean
and “worthy.”
Ah, yes. There’s that word. “Worthy.” We want to pick
and choose who deserves our help, our money, our time. We forget that Jesus
loved everyone equally. We ignore the reality that Jesus frequently welcomed
those whom others cast aside.
Jesus calls us all to service. He calls us all to
sacrifice. He calls us all to a different life than what is comfortable and of
our choosing. The question is: Will you walk away or will you step out in
faith? The choice belongs to you.
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