Readings for today: Matthew 19, Mark 10:1-31, Luke 16, 17, 18:1-30
What does discipleship mean to you? Is it a life of obligation or a life of freedom? A life of rules or a relationship? Do you find yourself checking boxes to get by or truly giving God your all? The life God offers us is nothing short of supernatural. Supernatural joy. Supernatural peace. Supernatural love. It is a life that is full and rich and overflowing. It is a life that is fresh and pure and ever-flowing. It is a life that enriches and blesses others. It is a life that is Kingdom-centered rather than self-centered and therefore free of so much of the anxieties and fears that plague so many in our world.
This is the life Jesus offers the rich young ruler. He comes to Jesus asking what he must “do” to inherit eternal life and thereby betrays his immediate error. The abundant life Jesus offers us cannot be earned or purchased or obtained by any means other than grace. Jesus sees his heart immediately and points him to the commandments. “All these I’ve kept since my youth” he says. Jesus looks on him with love because clearly just keeping the commandments isn’t enough. It’s not enough to satisfy. It’s not enough to provide the assurance he’s looking for. So Jesus offers him the gift of eternal life here on earth. “Sell all you have and serve the poor.” In other words, surrender all you hold dear in order to embrace the life God offers you in Himself. Sadly, the man turns away for he loves his riches more than God. It’s a heartbreaking scene but one that gets repeated all too often, even in churches. So much of my time is spent with people essentially helping them navigate the same challenge. And all too often, they turn away for they love whatever it is they are clinging to more than God. Like Jesus, I love them. I don’t condemn them. I get it. I see the same dynamic in my own life as well.
Here’s the challenge. Do we take a minimalist or maximalist approach to discipleship? Do we perceive the Christian life as doing the absolute minimum required to get into heaven? Raise a hand in worship? Pray a prayer of salvation? Check the box? Get my fire insurance? Or do I take the maximalist approach? Giving all that I am to God. My life. My loves. My resources. My abilities. My time. My relationships. Am I willing to surrender all I hold dear so that I may gain all God has for me? The secret I’ve discovered is the more I lay down, the more I receive in return. The more I give, the more God entrusts into my hands. The more I serve, the more blessed I become. This is what it means to live the abundant life and it’s what Jesus wants to give to every single of His followers.
Readings for tomorrow: Matthew 20, Mark 10:32-52, Luke 18:31-43, 19:1-27