decision – Gird Your Mind

Mark 10:17-31

A man comes to Jesus with a question. What’s more, his eagerness is on display as he runs toward Jesus and kneels before him. He wants to know how to obtain eternal life, but prefaces his inquiry with a flowery salutation: “Good Teacher.”

Jesus addresses this first, before dealing with the more critical matter of eternal life. “Why do you call me good? Only God is good.” Was he testing the man’s knowledge? Did the man realize that by calling Jesus “good” he was equating Jesus with God? Or was it meant to impress and flatter Jesus?

Jesus does not wait for an answer and begins listing certain of the Ten Commandments. The ones he chooses all have to do with visible and outward actions, easily verifiable to an observant witness. The man quickly answers :All these things I have kept from my youth.” What response did the man expect from Jesus? Was it something like “Oh, well done, good and faithful servant! Of course, you already have eternal life!” When our focus is on what we have done and done well, it can be easy to imagine great rewards.

But instead, Jesus points out something the man lacks. This is not a “gotcha” to expose his lack of spiritual understanding, for Mark points out that Jesus felt a love for this man. Jesus’ words are meant to help and build up, not to criticize and rip apart. Did the man approached Jesus with this same love? Was Jesus more dear to him than anything else?

The answer to this is, sadly, no. He was a wealthy man who owned much property. The thought of giving this up startled and grieved him. When Jesus gave his final instruction to “come, follow me,” the man’s eagerness and confidence disappeared. He had not anticipated this. Instead of following, he went away.

We tend to think that people who have had a rough time in life, hitting every bump and stymied by circumstances, would have good reason to distrust and be resentful of God. But this man had every advantage and enjoyed every blessing on this earth. What could he have against God that he would turn away?

Jesus said it is so very hard for the wealthy to enter God’s kingdom. But not impossible. For all things are possible with God.

“Follow Me…” Mark 1:16-20

There are a couple of empty boats hauled up on the beach. They are well used, but in good condition and ready to sail, complete with nets in good repair. But where are the fishermen?

Jesus had just walked by and had briefly spoken to two pairs of brothers. “Follow Me” is what he said as he went along. There is no record of the thoughts going through the minds of these four men, nor of the considerations they pondered. All we know is “they immediately left the nets and followed him.” One decision followed by two actions: leave and follow.

A decision to follow Jesus is not just a personal, private or inner matter. There is physical, tangible evidence for the world to see that a life has been abandoned. Or at least there ought to be.

Only Jesus can make this kind of demand on a person’s life. Neither parent, sibling, friend or lover can rightfully demand such a response. It has to come from Jesus and be answered only by yourself. No one can respond for you or go in your place.

This decision is essentially a matter of faith and nothing else. No rational argument can be made to leave family and their means of support to follow someone who just happens to walk by. Some have suggested that these four obviously already knew Jesus well enough to trust him.

Maybe so. But Mark does not concern himself with this. Instead, he cuts directly to the chase: Jesus is calling – what do you do?

For more, see Mark 1:16-20

What shall I do?

Empty Boats