Tied For Last Place (part 3)
Oh, where’d I leave off again? That’s right…
I was hoping for some middle ground to stand on; a broad space that
covers the spread between two opposing, but equally as arrogant reactions to
the issue of riches and wealth. (You can
catch up with me by reading part 1 and part 2 at this point, if you haven’t
already.)
I gave you the passage below. Three things that encourage me, all in bold
italics. Read it again…
17 And as [Jesus] was
setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him,
"Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
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"Christ and the Rich Young Ruler" Heinrich Hofman - 1889 The Riverside Church, New York |
18 And Jesus said to him,
"Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: 'Do
not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do
not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'"
21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved
him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you
have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come,
follow me."
22 Disheartened by the
saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked
around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who
have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"
24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said
to them again, "Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of
God."
26 And they were
exceedingly astonished, and said to him, "Then who can be saved?"
27 Jesus looked at them
and said, "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For
all things are possible with God."
28 Peter began to say to him, "See, we have left everything and followed
you."
29 Jesus said,
"Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or
sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the
gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time,
houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with
persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be
last, and the last first." (Mark 10:17-31 ESV)
You caught the three things? Well, you read them at least? They encourage me – even challenge me –
because they don’t suggest a middle ground at all! Rather, they suggest a totally different
ground all together!
One by one, watch…
First, this isn’t a passage primarily about
my money or your money at all! See that first question, the one in bold about
eternal life? That’s a bookend. It sets the context for us. The supreme conflict at hand isn’t between
being rich and relieving poverty. In
fact few, if any, of the times Jesus brings up wealth and riches is this the
conflict. The supreme conflict at hand
is between not knowing God and knowing
God…forever! As the passage proceeds, money comes up, and
for a key reason. We’ll note that
next. But if you skip down a bit, there
you’ll find the other bookend, at the end of verse 30: “…in the age to come eternal life.”
I’m encouraged and challenged by
this because right from the get-go the questions I ought to be asking as I read
aren’t questions of wealth or poverty or selling everything off. They should be questions about eternal
life. My starting point isn’t something as
earthly and base as money or a feeling of guilt for having some. My starting point is far higher; Real Life
lived in the presence of the one true God forever! What about wealth and riches? Keep reading…
Next, Jesus loved the rich guy. Have you ever noticed that before? Matthew and Luke don’t mention it in their
accounts. It’s the short answer to the
guys question on eternal life. Here
kneels a guy before Jesus who is drowning in the abundance of his possessions,
clinging to his good works to keep him afloat, and Jesus looked at him, perhaps
right through him even, and loved him…by
calling out his idol. Same love he has
for you and me. A most uncomfortable manner
of love to be sure, but love none-the-less when the stakes are eternal
life.
“You lack one thing…” Great hook Jesus! The guy’s listening ears leaned in. I wonder if his listening ears made it past
the “sell all you have and give to the poor” part before his mind began to spin
through the lengthy list of his great possessions; every one an altar to a well
known god? I wonder if mine would if it
was my idol on trial?
Fact is though, if all we hear is
a command to liquidate, we walk away with a narrow vision of Jesus’ love. The breadth of Jesus’ love for this guy; for
me and for you, stretches in directions and into dimensions far beyond a mere
requirement to kill our lying idols, be they possessions, career,
relationships, community status, or whatev.
His love includes both the promise of treasure in heaven; an inheritance
outweighing that of our earthly idols, and
a call to follow Him; an adventure outpacing that of our earthly idols. Is anyone else showing you this manner of
love? Not a chance. This love is too risky; too…impossible, for
you and I that is. Keep reading…
Finally, God’s love is always – and only
– possible. For this poor rich dude in
the story, selling everything and giving it to the poor was the best and
furthest extreme Jesus could imagine with respect to him earning eternal life. This guy could no more step to Jesus’ challenge
by killing off his idols than he could buy his way into heaven. And neither can we. It’s impossible. No brainer illustration: Try getting a camel through the eye of a
needle. Go on, give it a try. No camel handy? Try your cup of fair trade coffee or your
charitable giving receipts or your Christmas shopping list or whatever else is tucked
away in the pride pocket and secretly worth more to you than God’s love. (Believe me, I too have plenty of things that
won’t fit through that needle eye.)
Jesus’ answer to the question
of eternal life, whether for this rich young slappy in the story or for you and I, is less about a show
of strength and striving and more about a humble reception of God’s love. You and I, we’ll never kill all our idols and
therein find eternal life. Quitting a
job that’s stealing your soul, severing a relationship that’s defiling your
character, selling everything and giving to the poor; we may assume these and
any number of other noble deeds move us into a tie for last place where the
trophy of eternal life is sure to be found.
But when we arrive there we’ll notice last place is already occupied by One,
Jesus Christ, God’s eternal Son.
See, God’s love for us placed Jesus
in last place. No tie. Just Jesus…on the cross…dying our death. Just Jesus doing the eternal deed, which all
our temporal deeds combined, sincere as they may be, could never match. Just Jesus buying for you and me a forever inheritance
in heaven that was already his for the taking.
Just Jesus destroying the needle’s eye and any hope for a middle ground,
making a totally new way into His eternal Kingdom; making possible the
impossible.
“But many who are first will be last, and the last
first." ~ Mark 10:31
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