āTeacher,ā the man replied, āIāve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.āĀ Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him.Ā āThere is still one thing you havenāt done,āĀ he told him.Ā āGo and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.ā
What do we do then when Jesus shows upāthe Light of His presence exposing us? Our sins laid bare before us both. Indisputable. Catching us, not Him, unawares…
Reading through the account of āThe Rich Young Rulerā I caught a glimpse of my heart. Well, at least I saw one idol that was sitting quite smugly upon it āone that I had allowed to reign where only God alone belongs. Must always remain. Money is its name, this idol of mine. More specifically, the discomfits and sacrifices its lack may cause me. And as of this moment it is only a āmayā. Some possible future thing yet to have happened; nothing has changed. Financially speaking that is. Nonetheless, it was in this ājust catching a glimpse that something may change momentā that my idol was exposed. In a nano-second I lost the sure footing Iād felt just that one second before. I was suddenly off-balance, falling, unexpectedly tugged, the solid ground beneath me failing me nowā¦.
Because isnāt that the point of this young manās story? The ground beneath him, and I, had been unexpectedly shaken in Jesusā pointing out of the idols that have clutched our hearts? The death grip of these things that have been allowed to exalt themselves above God? Isnāt that what a loving God comes and does for us; unsteadies our ground, forcing us to reevaluate our footing? Doesnāt He show up, at just the right time, in love, to show us a better way? The way of life, not of stuff. The prosperity preachers seem to pass that over most times. But thatās for a different dayā¦
In that instant we feel as naked before Him as the day we were born. With nowhere to hide He exposes our sin and reveals thatāfor as long as we continue to live in this body, in this world, we will repeatedly be exposed to experiencing these pebbles of painful revelation found in our proverbial shoes that we might grow. These uncomfortable choices that will force us to stop and remove them least our journey be somehow permanently hindered, or worse. These sins in our camp that must be exposed, dealt with, and, removed. There will always be these moments when we will be made to feel off-balance. These āsuddenlyā moments when the Light of His Love will shine into the darkness of some tucked away sin, some stronghold or idol that must, for our betterment, must be destroyed. God is far more interested in our characters than in our comfort. Thus, as with the young man in Marks Gospel, we too will be faced with making the choice Jesus has offered Him. It, your idol, or Me?
The choice afforded him, us too, is to follow Jesus. To willingly leave behind our idols, our false sense of security, our creature comforts, perhapsāthose āthingsā we feel we must have in order for our world to run smoothly. In order for us to feel sure-footed, of having everything in order, under control. Not because God does not want us to have things mind you, thatās not it. More to the point, God doesnāt want things to have us. To rule and reign over usāin our hearts, above Him; becoming the god that keeps our world running smoothly and, our things the proof of our accomplishments and abilities. All the while pushing the One True God off of His rightful placeāthe very center of our lives and hearts. Dismissing Him as being our All-in All. Our more than enough. The One who is so much more than we deserve. The Giver of life. The only true Source of every good thing. The One that valued our lives so dearly He laid down His own to ransom them.
Rather, whether intentionallyāas with this rich young ruler, or in continued conscious rebellion, as with most of us ( we are often far too aware of those sins we chose to continue to push back under the table of deniability each time they threaten to pop their heads out from beneath like the a dog lacking discipline groveling.) we must choose, over and over and over again, for as long a we live, just who it is that truly reigns Sovereign in our lives? Us, with our willful wants and needs and have-to-haves, or Jesus?
At the end of the day do we really mean what we say: Thy will be done in my life Lord?
And I do believe, that if we love Jesus, truly, if weāve surrendered our lives to Himārather, been chosen by Him, in Him, then yes, we do want His perfect will to be the standard for our lives. Because it is His will, alive and burning and leading and guiding us within that causes this desire to surrender into His loving hands any-thing He might ask of us. Unto our very lives. We hunger for Him to be our True North. The One we followācome what may; no matter the terrain, contrary to anything that may be required of us to give upāor over to, to be surrendered, knocked down, destroyed, or abandoned altogether.
In closing, our idol never sits alone. Typically, it is always accompanied by its cohort, its devotee, its banker and backer, pride. Pride always wants the best seat. The front row. It will always attempt to set our paltry idols up on a Kings throne. Anemic. It was pride coupled with a false sense of security and identity that caused our rich young friend to turn away from Jesusā humble offer to follow Him rather than chasing after the short-term pleasures of this world.
False identity that will one day rot and be eaten up by moth and flameāleaving its reward in its wakeā¦
Once again, this day, so many years after He first came and called me to Himself, asked if I would leave it all behind for His name sake; the Light of Godās saving love has shone brightly, yet again, exposing some thing I have allowed to sit, however briefly, upon a Throne reserved for Christ alone. And, though it is my true desire to upend this imposter from Gods rightful place in my heart, I acknowledge that without Him, willing it alone, I have no permanent power to topple them. My willpower is insufficient. Had it been enough, theyād never gained accessĀ into me in the first place. Therefore, I take the greatest comfort that even in this, even though I allowed the imposter in, He has assured me, promised even āEverything is possible with God.ā It is defeated in Jesus name! I am thankful that with God and, in His strength, pride and every idol it dares to back will be defeatedābecause of who He is and what He alone has doneā¦
So then, what do we do then when Jesus shows upāthe Light of His presence exposing us? Our sin laid bare before us both, indisputable. Catching us, not Him, unawares? Firstly, we thank Him for such a gift. Then, we must make the only real and lasting choice there is. Trust God. Irrespective of our fears, contrary to whatever may comeāwe must, we must always and in all of our ways choose God, first.
My brothers and sisters be encouraged today remembering this, our Father only chastens those He loves. And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: āMy son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.ā Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?ā āHebrews 12:5-7
Dearest friend, if you are questioning āis there a God who truly loves meā the answer in an unequivocal and eternal, yes! He is the reason youāre here right now, reading this. He wants to help answer the questions of your heart. To demonstrate that though you may be faced with difficult decisions, He fully understands. He met you here today specifically to ask, āwonāt you follow me?ā So then, wonāt you please say yes to Him today? But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him! For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! āRomans 5:8-10
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