The rich young ruler asked Jesus what he needed to do to receive eternal life (Mark 10). He had been a good Jew. He had kept the commandments. He had done everything he knew to do. So how did Jesus answer his question? He told the young man to sell everything he had, give it to the poor, and follow Him. The rich young ruler sadly walked away because he had great possessions.
We read about this young man and wonder why he couldn’t do what Jesus asked. It seems like a simple thing to do — sell all you have. We can easily see that serving God is important than material possessions. Like the rich young ruler, we have many possessions. Our lifestyles are filled with riches, pleasure and ease. We are not only comfortable with our possessions, we are comfortable with how we serve Jesus. We attend worship services regularly. We take food to the sick and visit at the funeral home when the need arises. We see to it that our children have done their lessons for Bible class. It is not a difficult thing to do. Serving Christ fits in very comfortably with our way of life. We go through our lives thinking we’re doing what Christ wants us to do, but what has it cost you?
When David wanted to offer a sacrifice to worship God (2 Samuel 24:18-25), he was offered the land and other items necessary for the sacrifice as a gift. David refused the gift and said he would pay for the land and everything else he needed to offer the sacrifice. He did not want to worship God unless it cost him something. What has it cost you?
God has blessed us with family and friends. Some of our family and friends are a great encouragement to us in serving the Lord. Others are our adversaries even though we consider them our best friends or closest relations. If someone is keeping me from worshiping God with all my heart, soul and mind, then that person is against me (and Christ). This person could be a best friend, brother, sister or even my child. The Bible tells us that we may need to give up our family and friends to serve God (Matthew 19:29). Is it worth it to keep their friendship, even if I miss out on Heaven?
We live in a rich society. We have many possessions and a luxurious lifestyle but sometimes our lifestyle can hinder us from serving God. Maybe you live on family land that has been passed down from generation to generation. Maybe you finally have your dream home that you worked for years to get. Maybe you live in an area that promises fun and recreation just a short distance away. What have you done to maintain this lifestyle? Has the opportunity arisen for you to help spread the gospel in a far away land? Did you say, “no”, because you didn’t want to leave your comfortable home? Have you worked for that dream home to the neglect of your family and the neglect of your God? Have you surrounded yourself with fun and recreation, but have to drive a long distance to meet with saints for edification and encouragement? Do you find yourself forsaking the assembly because it’s just too far away? Is your lifestyle worth missing out on Heaven?
What about your job? I’m sure it has been a rewarding but challenging experience getting where you are today. The recognition for your achievements from your colleagues can be very rewarding. The level of income you are now earning is comfortable and a just reward for all the years of hard work. How did you achieve this position in the workplace? Did you stand up for what you knew to be right when the tough situations arose? Did you, even though it meant losing a customer or even your job, speak out when God was made fun of or the truth was distorted? Was it worth it to keep your job? Will you proudly retell your success story on the day of judgment?
If we find ourselves living a comfortable life as a Christian, it might do us good to take a look at ourselves. We are never told that the reward for becoming a Christian is an easy lifestyle. In fact, we are told the opposite. We are told in Mark 8:34 and following that if we want to follow Jesus, we must deny ourselves (give up things that we want to do) and take up our cross and follow Him. Contrary to popular teaching today, we are not told that if we follow Christ our lives will improve, our family relationships will improve or we will be in a better financial situation. We are told that if we follow Christ, we will inherit eternal life. We must be willing to give up the material things of this world in order the receive the ultimate gift, eternal life.
Obviously, this does not mean we cannot have any material possessions. What it does mean is that if we are not willing to give up the material possessions or relationships with family and friends when God requires it of us, then we are not truly following Him. It’s easy for us to see that all the rich young ruler had to do was to give up his worldly possessions. We are just like him. We want to serve Jesus just like the rich young ruler did. We do all the things that are required of us to serve Jesus. We need to be careful that we don’t have the attitude that we’ll serve Jesus as long as it doesn’t interfere with our family, or our lifestyle, or our job. What has it cost you?
