Jesus Challenged the Rich - Day 32

Quite suddenly a man is kneeling before Jesus, asking him this question: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17f)
Jesus tells him to follow the commandments. He doesn’t initially seem like he wants to engage in the man’s question. The man quickly responds that he has, but that something is still missing. Jesus then, looking at him, “loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me. When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.’”
The man chose his possessions over Jesus. His stuff mattered more to him than eternal life. He grieved because he didn’t know how—didn’t want to—give away his things in order to follow Jesus. He couldn’t have his possessions and follow Jesus. To follow Jesus you have got to travel light.
Every year during the stewardship season (now, friends, that is a misnomer because all year is the stewardship season) I will have someone tell me to stop talking about money and to get back to preaching on spiritual issues. Money is a spiritual issue. What we do with it is a spiritual issue. Jesus talks constantly about money because he knows that any one of us are at risk of worshiping what we have, of being possessed by our possessions, of giving our first efforts to making and earning and accumulating stuff while putting our souls and our relationships at huge risk.
These are difficult times—times when many of us are worried about our money, our futures, our retirements, our commitments.
We are right now, many of us, on our knees. What will happen to us? What can we do to turn things around? Where is the bottom? Will I have to work until I drop? Will I need to downsize? Will my kids need to go to another college?
As you are asking all of these real and hard questions, remember, please do turn your gaze to Jesus. And remember to ask: “Jesus, where are you in all this? Will you, please, keep me from going crazy, keep me from losing my soul, keep me from losing my focus and trust and faith?”
Do not, like the rich man in this story, turn away from Jesus during this time. Turn towards him. He is there. If you have to travel a bit lighter in the future, so be it. Those who follow Jesus often do.