Christian Photographers Community

Mark 10:17 - 27
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When we're growing up we learn that achievement is important, that we're measured by what we do and what we have. The world reinforces that idea, and, before you know it, we begin to think that we also earn our way into God's favor as well.

But human achievement doesn't buy anything with God. Not that we shouldn't try to achieve good goals, but our entrance into His favor and kingdom doesn't depend on our achievements at all.  In fact, our progress toward the kingdom may be hopelessly sidetracked if we focus on our own achievements.

When we read about the incident before us here in Mark, we naturally assume that Jesus' words were a direct reply to the young man's question about how to obtain eternal life. And we might very well come to the conclusion from the words here that God's price for kingdom entrance is obedience to the commandments and charity to the poor. We naturally assume that the standard is the same for us. We assume that all we need to enter His kingdom is obedience and charity.

Let's make no mistakes here - charity, springing out of love for God, is pleasing to Him.  But such behavior wasn't at all the primary concern of Jesus' words to this young man. His primary concern for the young man and – and for ourselves - is that we focus upon Him instead of ourselves.  He wants us to remove any hindrances to that goal. He wanted this man to follow Him and learn from Him - to be entirely taken up with Jesus Himself. And the problem was that his focus was yet upon the concerns of this life – upon materialism – instead of upon the Person of Christ.

The key words are in verse 24: "Jesus said again to them, 'Children, how difficult it is for those who place their confidence in possessions to enter into the kingdom of God!'" The important word is "confidence." The young man's "confidence" was still in his great possessions. It could be our problem as well, so we need to understand what's meant by "confidence in possessions."

Its meaning is summed up in what Jesus says here about "treasures." He tells the young man, "Go, sell what things you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven." We might think this means, "Give away your possessions now, and you'll have possessions when you get to heaven." That's not it! He's not promising "possessions," but rather"treasures." And the condition of the promise wasn't only that the young man give away his possessions, but that he "come, follow Me." Basically, Jesus was telling him that if he could see his way clear to getting rid of his attitude trap - his confidence that his great earthly riches would see him through and that more money meant more security - and if instead he would consider a close relationship to Jesus as the only security he needed, why he'd find that he had all he could want or need - immediately and forever! In Jesus' words, he'd have treasure in heaven.

There's a very important application for us. It's not wrong - it's not necessarily even a hindrance to having the best possible relationship to Christ - to have money and possessions! But placing confidence in them instead of in Christ can be an insurmountable handicap. Somehow we need to learn how to have possessions while still focussing on Jesus Himself as our treasure.

There's only one way. As our Lord said here, "For men, it is impossible, but not for God: all things are possible for God!" If, while we're in close relationship to Jesus, He assigns us the task of being His agent, His steward, for large amounts of money, lots of real estate, or great political influence, and if we carry out our assignment in love to Him, in constant communication with Him, and in dependence upon Him, then we'll be blessed. If He assigns us the task of having almost nothing, while serving Him in some way, and while still being good stewards of what we have, and if we carry out that assignment in love to Him, in constant communication with and dependence upon Him, then in that too we'll be blessed. The blessing is in walking with Him, talking with Him, learning of Him, worshipping Him, and serving Him. The abundance or lack of possessions doesn't even matter. God is the Author of our faith. By His grace, by the work of His Spirit - alone - He can "make it possible."

But there's something we can do, too. We can look into our hearts to see what's really happening there. What matters is our love to Him, our communication with Him, and our dependence upon Him. So the question we need to ask ourselves is, "What takes up my thoughts?" When Paul said, "For infatuation with money is a root of every category of evil" (1 Tim. 6:10), he was talking about an obsession, a continual focus, a misplaced confidence. If I say, Well, I'm not trying to be rich - I just want to have enough salted away so I don't have to worry," then my confidence is in money. When I'm not careful with my finances, so that I live from paycheck to paycheck, I may say, "I just never seem to have enough to make ends meet." Underlying that excuse, too, is the thought that if I just had more income, then I could make ends meet - my confidence is still in money.

But if by the grace of our God we can sincerely say, "I will serve my Lord by taking the best possible care of all that He entrusts to me, however much or little," and if we pray for His providence, ask Him for wisdom, and thank Him for His provision, then our confidence is in Him, not in money, and - right now - we HAVE "treasure in heaven" – because we have HIM.

It's no wonder that our Lord had to go on to teach His disciples about the extreme difficulty of entrance into the kingdom when there are riches. It's because we're so easily tempted! When we're daily faced with the temptation of placing our confidence in possessions, we quickly find that we have to wrestle with our flesh constantly to keep from giving in.

But it isn't just a problem for the rich! The Devil doesn't leave poor people alone either! If we find ourselves constantly complaining about our lack, constantly bemoaning our lot in life because it doesn't provide us with as much as someone else has, then we're still placing our confidence in possessions - the possessions we don't have! The answer is in our Lord's exhortation to the young man to "come, taking up a cross, follow Me." It isn't an exhortation to be "so heavenly minded that we're no earthly good," but it's an exhortation to be as "earthly good" as we can with our eyes on Jesus in all we do.

He Himself summed it up beautifully in His Sermon on the Mount.  He said, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matt. 6:33) He also said, "You cannot serve God and mammon." When we try to serve our appetite for more of this world's goods, then we find that we're far from God. Not that we can earn closeness to Him through poverty - trust in riches or trust in poverty lead to the same end. Our eyes need to be on our Lord. We need to "Seek first the kingdom of God."

The answer, then, is to treat everything as God's possession, to be constantly aware that we live in His Kingdom, and that He Himself should be our primary focus. In love to Him, we need to see our possessions as His possessions. In that spirit, we can - and we should - seek to multiply our funds as much as He

enables, and our houses, cars, and all our things may be used for His glory. There's nothing wrong with riches, but we need to let them belong to Him. And there's nothing disabling about poverty, either, if we're trusting Him.

Jesus had one more thing to say about possessions before He left the subject. He speaks of those who have succeeded, those who don't place their confidence in possessions. He says that no matter what they've sacrificed in order to place Him first, they'll "receive an hundredfold now, in this age - houses, and brothers and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands (along with persecutions) and, in the coming age, life eternal!"

Some have assumed this promise means that one can become wealthy by following some spiritual "poverty formula." Wrong! To understand the promise, we need to compare it with the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6:25-34). He never contradicts Himself, so His meaning in that teaching must be that such possessions and relationships as we do have in this life will be an hundredfold more satisfying - they'll be as if multiplied an hundredfold - if we place our relationship with Him in first place, if our primary delight is in Him and not just in the possessions and relationships themselves. This interpretation is verified when He goes on to say that such a life will be followed by "eternal life." The fact is that the quality of that eternal life begins in the present.

So let's seek first of all just to get to know Him better than we do. Let's seek to "fall in love" with Him above all things. Let's do it by watching Him and listening to Him through the disciple's eyes in the four Gospels. In fact, you can see Him right here as the One Who best obeys His own words! To Him, it was no hardship to live from day to day, dependent on His Father for livelihood. He was seeking "always to do those things that please the Father." He lived in constant communication with Him. By His Spirit in you, you can do the same.

The answer, then, as always, is Jesus Christ. You and I need to renounce human achievement and the pursuit of worldly gain as an end in itself, and we need to turn to Jesus Christ our Savior. Lay it all at HIS feet and begin to seek HIM. It'll be worth it!

YES! AMEN.