My lease on this space has just about expired, but I want to make sure we take a look at the teachable moment Jesus has with his disciples as a result of the Rich Young Ruler’s decision to walk away. Jesus turns to his disciples and says, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” He adds that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God (Mark 10:23-25).” “Then who can be saved?” The disciples ask. Jesus looked them square in the eye and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible (vs. 26-27).” The situation is not hopeless. But Jesus is making a basic point: The reason a camel cannot fit through the eye of a needle is because there is too much camel. We cannot place our trust in God and enter into the abundant living of the Kingdom if we have, in this sense, too much ego. If we want to experience the abundant life Jesus offers, we are going to have to put the camel on a diet. This is where the spiritual disciplines come in.
The fact that Peter has a difficult time with this teaching indicates that folks inside the church can struggle with false perceptions just as much as the unbelievers outside it. We too can become preoccupied with material success. Hearing Jesus talk of selling everything in order to gain treasure in heaven may have left the disciples with the impression that Jesus is calling all of his followers to a life of poverty. Many of think that Jesus is just another holy man trying to talk us out of something tangible in the present in exchange for something intangible (and thus unreal) in the future.
But Jesus makes it clear that the blessings of Kingdom-living are both real and available right now. “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age…. and in the age to come eternal life (Mark 10:29-30 italics mine).” The abundant, generous, eternal life Jesus promises is a present-tense life. This is not “pie in the sky by-and-by.” If we would relinquish our claim to “the good life” on our terms, we will receive the “the great life” on his terms. He promises to provide a home and a family for us where we know we belong and know we are valued. It will be a place that will provide us with the resources to grow as mature, capable people. It will be a place in which we can do meaningful work, the results of which will last forever. In a word, Jesus is promising us the church. Had the Rich Young Ruler been able to obey Jesus’ command, he would have learned that there is nothing you can give up for the kingdom that will not be replaced with that which is more satisfying, more fulfilling, and more true.
Tomorrow’s Conclusion: How Material Things Become the Stuff of Heaven
Morgan Murray is the Pastor of Community Presbyterian Church of San Juan Capistrano, CA and has been guest blogging for me a series called, The Rich Young Rulers of Orange County.
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