Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:21-22 NKJV)
How meaning there are who know in their hearts what their duty is, but fail to do it because they are hiding some forbidden thing; they refuse to launch on the current sweeping past them, because they are secretly anchored to a sandbank; they go from one teacher to another, with an appearance of earnest inquiry after eternal life, which never comes to anything, because they are unwilling to renounce their secret idol.
In the case
of this young man, it was the love of money. "He had great possessions."
There is no harm in money, it is one of God's gifts to men, but it is hard to
own it without coming to look upon it as one's own, instead of realizing that
we are stewards only. It was for this reason that our Lord proposed this
supreme test. St. Francis of
The law of
love is not negative only but positive. The most essential condition for each
of us is to be willing, like another young man who was living at that time,
"to count all things but loss, in order to win Christ and to be found in
Him" (Philippians 3:8). If you would follow Christ and are prepared for love's
sake to surrender all, you will probably be entrusted with manifold more,
because Christ knows that He can make you His giver with no fear of gold dust
adhering to your palm in its transmission.
Let's guard
against the idol of money or possessions. Riches which open most doors, will
not furnish a pass key to heaven. Let's see to it that we always act as
stewards of God's property, but this is not possible unless we are living
perpetually in fellowship with our Master, who though He was rich, yet for our
sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich, and who says
to us also, "Come, take up the cross, and follow Me."
PRAYER
The dearest
idol I have known, whatever that idol be, help me to tear it from Your throne,
And worship only You. I pray in Jesus' name, AMEN.
God's Daily Promise
Promise #255:
Before you even call out to Me, I will answer you.
Isaiah 65:24 (WEB)
It will happen that, before
they call, I will answer;
and
while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
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