The Daily Encounter
"What if He told YOU to sell it all?"
21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, 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.”
Jesus, in Matthew 19:21-24 ESV
We read the story of the rich young ruler and a lot of times I think we put ourselves in a different bucket, like this man was worlds apart from our own financial and social situation. We either look at the story with a heartbroken sadness that he was "so close" or we think "it's a good thing I don't have to deal with a challenge like this". Whatever we think/feel when we read this passage one thing is usually true, we look at this passage as if it's talking to a group of people that we are not.
How would you feel if I told you that YOU and I were in the very same boat that this "rich" young ruler was in? That not only are we wealthy, but we hold more tightly to the things that make us "wealthy" than even the rich young ruler did?
Consider this...
“If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of the world.
If you have money in the bank, your wallet, and some spare change you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.
With these facts in mind we now come to the core of the issue. How often do we feel that it is ok to chase after these "basic" necessities of life? That "wealth" means having millions of dollars in the bank? It doesn't, everyone reading this has never had to worry about any of the things listed above yet we often use them as an excuse for why we put things before God, our family and our church.
What if God asked you to walk away from it all to follow him? To not worry about having "enough" and to put our life's focus completely on Him? Could you do it? Because He has. Sunday we learned that God has promised to provide all the things we need if we are willing to put Him above all. To not separate our "responsibilities" to our families and ourselves from our service to him.
This is a radically different way of looking at provision than you will hear ANYWHERE else in the world but especially in Fairfield County. In fact, some people would be downright angry at the thought of putting anything before their family's well-being. But that's the beautiful mystery right? The truth is we are incapable of truly taking care of anyone, even ourselves, properly. Tomorrow events could lead to you being on the street and then despite your best intentions, you or your family would suffer. To truly "care" for ourselves and our families we put God and His kingdom first. It's the only way to ensure that they will be truly provided for.
So that's the take away from all of this, you ARE rich, and God is asking YOU to trust that he can meet your needs and to let go of the idea that YOU have to be the one to provide them. Can you do it? Can we seek HIM first and trust that he can and will meet our needs along the way?
I sure hope so...
-Matt K
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