I have been giving a lot of thought to the conversation between Jesus and the rich young man. Jesus’s words were profound, “go sell all that thou has and follow me”. (Luke 18:22) I can hear the echo of those very words in my soul. WE all want to rush after Jesus, and have him touch and bless our lives….But, when he puts us to the test……we too walk away saddened.
Jesus did not pursue the young man to make a different bargain with him…He just let him go.
Until we are willing to totally surrender our lives, dying to our wants, and selfish ambitions; we will always walk away saddened.
If our very lives mean more to us than following Jesus; we do not know him, nor will we ever know him.
WE have not given him our heart….all we have is religion, which is an expression of works through duty. We are no better than the Sadducee’s and the Pharisees. Our righteousness is to exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees, if we wish to enter the Kingdom. (Matthew 5:20)
The young man had a form of Godliness….. Oh, yes, he was religious, but when he could not surrender his wants, ambitions, and wealth, he denied the power of a living God.
When we do not surrender everything…we stagnate and drift away saddened…… and Jesus does not pursue us. He longs for us to return to Him.
The Christian French Connection 