A man came running up to Jesus, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what should I do to get eternal life?” Mark 10:17
The man was on the right track. He came with the right attitude. So Jesus said, The first order of business is to obey. Love results in obedience. The man replied, I’ve already done all that!
Jesus felt genuine love for this man as he looked at him. Mark 10:21
Do you believe Jesus feels genuine love for you? Do you believe that He looks at you, He sees into your heart’s desires – whether good or bad – and He really, truly loves you? Whatever comes out of Jesus’ mouth next comes from a heart that is full of absolute love for you, that wants the very best for you.
And for this guy, for me, maybe for you, Jesus asked him to do the one thing he didn’t want to do.
Maybe you know what happened next – the man went away sad. Jesus had asked him to sell his stuff so he could be closer to Jesus and he couldn’t do it. He didn’t want to do it. His response revealed who his master really was.
When it comes down to it, if there is something you can’t let go of even if Jesus Himself asks you to, then your master isn’t Jesus. It doesn’t have to be money, but it can be. “No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). In the end, you will have to choose between one and the other. You will not be able to hold on to both.
Why not? Why not God and money? Why not God and my position? Why not God and this relationship? Why not God’s way and my way?
Because He says “lay it down” (John 15:13). Let it go, give it up, fling it away, and cling to Me. Be done with self-will, self-love. Grab on with both hands to the lifeline I offer and don’t let go. It’s the only way to be saved.
I can’t say I belong to Christ and continue to put myself first. I can’t say I love you and continue to love myself best. But I do it every day. We don’t like to admit it, but dying might be easier than daily surrender.
Contrast this rich young man to a fisherman named Peter. Jesus borrowed Peter’s boat and then told Peter how to fish. Peter could have said, I’ve already done all that. But what he said was, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets” (Luke 5:5 NIV, emphasis added).
When Peter obeyed, when he did it even though he didn’t want to, his boat was on the verge of sinking because it was so overloaded with fish. It was probably his biggest haul ever, and he never even took it to market. “As soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus” (Luke 5:11).
Jesus never told Peter to sell his boat. Peter just walked away from it.
Jesus invites us to be free of whatever is holding us back from the Kingdom. He set us free so we wouldn’t be slaves to any other master. He set us free so we could let go of everything that’s keeping us from grabbing onto the Kingdom with both hands.
There’s one other man who comes to mind, a man who was asked to do something impossible. Listen to His response: “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine” (Luke 22:42). I don’t want to do it, but because you say so, I will.
It was this love and obedience that purchased our freedom. Now “God’s Spirit doesn’t make us slaves who are afraid of him. Instead, we become his children and call him our Father” (Romans 8:15 CEV).