I want to hear your thoughts

December 8, 2008 in Prayer/Faith with 6 Comments

I have REALLY been focusing on this verse lately.  I know a lot of pastors read this blog, so I thought I’d ask for any thoughts on this verse.  Is it one that man ignores too often?  Is it one that people take to mean different things?  These are real questions.  Anyone can answer.  Go. :)

Mark 10:17-30

17As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

18“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’[a]”

20“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

21Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

24The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is[b] to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

26The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”

27Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

28Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!”

29“I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.

  • http://michael.thecommunityfellowship.org/ Michael Harrison

    Couple thoughts on the tough questions, Andy. First one would be the “sell all” command Jesus gave; second one is the difficultly to “get into Heaven” issue.

    First, I do believe that the church and most Christians miss what Jesus is saying to this gentleman, and further what He is saying to us. Jesus must be first. That means that everything we have, including all our money is God's and given to us as stewards. We have a choice in how we use it, yet God expects it 100% to be used to do what He calls us to do. My favorite take on this comes Tony Compolo and his book “The Kingdom of God is a Party”.

    Second, it is a huge constrast to talk about it being hard to get into heaven and then to talk about needing the faith of a child. Or is it? A child's faith is deep and unwavering. An adult's faith leaves many, many loopholes. Maybe that faith is characterized better by 'fair weather' or 'convience' rather than all the time. We often put things in the way of living for Christ when it doesn't make sense to us. Jesus says that by illustrating with this man who is unwilling to use or give all he has to serve God.

    Just my thoughts, and I trust that leads further down the road, Andy, you've been thinking down. Blessings…

  • http://bryan-hills.blogspot.com bryankhill

    I think in the end of verse 27 “all things are possible with God” hits home for me. Michael points it out, “everything we have, including money is God's and given to us as stewards.” This is where we fall short, whether we don't understand what it is God wants us to do with it, or we are selfish and chose materialism of God. Being responsible stewards of everything God blesses us with, is the challenge.
    Just my two cents…..thanks for the thought provoking post!
    Peace.

  • http://www.whatsthislifefor.org PastorT

    Man, it gets rough when you get into different interpretations, but I try to keep it as simple as possible. How much do I take literally? I mean, a camel is obviously not going to fit through the eye of a needle, so does He mean to imply it is impossible for a rich man to enter the Kingdom or is He simply making a point that they are sure to understand? The answer may be a combination of both as it IS impossible, alone, for us to enter the Kingdom, but not nearly as impossible as the example He gives.
    You'll find parallel passages in Mt 19:16-30 and Lk 18:18-30 which seems to tell us that Mark knows the story and Matthew and Luke borrowed the story and changed it a little. My point being that the three used this story to tell us different things, for different reasons.
    Now, for the part of me that likes it simple. This is where Jesus is talking to us about those good ole “possessions” we worship. In my words, it would go something like, “you can take all that crap to the grave with ya, but it's gonna melt where you're going.” Without Him we have nothing and if we have accepted Him into our lives we will give more than we keep. Simply, you can't have it both ways. This may be where I irritate a few people, but I do not think you can be smothered in all of this material crap and call yourself a follower of Christ. Maybe there are special circumstances, i.e Bill Gates or something, where you give and give and give and still have tons of cash, but in my mind, if you have more than you're giving, you're living backwards.
    I've ranted long enough…You get the idea of how I feel :-) .

  • http://michael.thecommunityfellowship.org/ Michael Harrison

    Couple thoughts on the tough questions, Andy. First one would be the “sell all” command Jesus gave; second one is the difficultly to “get into Heaven” issue.

    First, I do believe that the church and most Christians miss what Jesus is saying to this gentleman, and further what He is saying to us. Jesus must be first. That means that everything we have, including all our money is God's and given to us as stewards. We have a choice in how we use it, yet God expects it 100% to be used to do what He calls us to do. My favorite take on this comes Tony Compolo and his book “The Kingdom of God is a Party”.

    Second, it is a huge constrast to talk about it being hard to get into heaven and then to talk about needing the faith of a child. Or is it? A child's faith is deep and unwavering. An adult's faith leaves many, many loopholes. Maybe that faith is characterized better by 'fair weather' or 'convience' rather than all the time. We often put things in the way of living for Christ when it doesn't make sense to us. Jesus says that by illustrating with this man who is unwilling to use or give all he has to serve God.

    Just my thoughts, and I trust that leads further down the road, Andy, you've been thinking down. Blessings…

  • http://bryan-hills.blogspot.com bryankhill

    I think in the end of verse 27 “all things are possible with God” hits home for me. Michael points it out, “everything we have, including money is God's and given to us as stewards.” This is where we fall short, whether we don't understand what it is God wants us to do with it, or we are selfish and chose materialism over God. Being responsible stewards of everything God blesses us with, is the challenge.
    Just my two cents…..thanks for the thought provoking post!
    Peace.

  • http://www.whatsthislifefor.org PastorT

    Man, it gets rough when you get into different interpretations, but I try to keep it as simple as possible. How much do I take literally? I mean, a camel is obviously not going to fit through the eye of a needle, so does He mean to imply it is impossible for a rich man to enter the Kingdom or is He simply making a point that they are sure to understand? The answer may be a combination of both as it IS impossible, alone, for us to enter the Kingdom, but not nearly as impossible as the example He gives.
    You'll find parallel passages in Mt 19:16-30 and Lk 18:18-30 which seems to tell us that Mark knows the story and Matthew and Luke borrowed the story and changed it a little. My point being that the three used this story to tell us different things, for different reasons.
    Now, for the part of me that likes it simple. This is where Jesus is talking to us about those good ole “possessions” we worship. In my words, it would go something like, “you can take all that crap to the grave with ya, but it's gonna melt where you're going.” Without Him we have nothing and if we have accepted Him into our lives we will give more than we keep. Simply, you can't have it both ways. This may be where I irritate a few people, but I do not think you can be smothered in all of this material crap and call yourself a follower of Christ. Maybe there are special circumstances, i.e Bill Gates or something, where you give and give and give and still have tons of cash, but in my mind, if you have more than you're giving, you're living backwards.
    I've ranted long enough…You get the idea of how I feel :-) .