A Heavenly Photo Finish

Down the Home Stretch

A jumbled pack of runners kick for the finish line. Cars trade paint racing for the checkered flag. Teams fight for first place in the final days of the season.  

A close race to the finish line gets the blood pumping and the heart racing. 

Kicking to the Finish Line

If you think those are exciting, get a load of this. Jesus predicts a heavenly photo finish as people head down the home stretch into eternity (Mk 10:28-31).

This all takes place as the Lord is kicking it to the finish in His messianic marathon to Jerusalem, where He will soon face betrayal, torture, murder, and ultimately, resurrection (Mk 8:31; 9:31).

A Wealthy Up-and-Comer

Somewhere on the far side of the Jordan River, Christ and His personal posse have just met a wealthy up-and-comer who hoped to join their crew (Mk 10:17-22). There’s just one problem. He loves His money more than He wants to follow Jesus.

The radical Rabbi/Carpenter uses this as a teachable moment for His team (Mk 10:23-27). He uses the hilarious example of trying to shove a camel through the eye of a needle as a way of describing rich folks trying to squeeze their fortunes into God’s kingdom. It just ain’t happening.

Despite what you might think, you can’t grease God’s palm to get on His good side. Instead when it comes to eternity, those who gain entry through the gates of heaven are those who hold their money loosely and their Savior tightly.

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

It’s at this point that Peter just has to say something. This should come as no shock.

If you’re familiar at all with the former commercial fisherman turned disciple, you know he has a bad habit of opening his mouth so he can insert his foot. That’s the reason so many of us can relate to the one Jesus calls Rocky (Mt 16:18).

Giving up Everything

Pete blurts out, “We’ve given up everything to follow You” (v28). At first glance, this certainly makes sense. While the rich young dude refused to liquidate his assets in order to follow our Savior, the disciples sure have (Mk 1:18, 20; 2:14; Lk 5:11; 5:28).

A closer look at the original language doubles down on that idea. “Given up” (Gr. αφιημι/afiemi) is a Greek verb that means to move away from someone or something and cause separation. It can even describe abandonment. 

Come Follow

And “follow” (Gr. ακολουθεω/akoloutheo) paints a picture of accompanying someone who takes the lead and determines the direction. It’s the language of commitment, obedience, and discipleship.

Jesus uses the same verb when inviting the wealthy hot shot to climb aboard with His other followers. Sell your stuff, give your money to those who REALLY need it, “then come, follow (Gr. ακολουθεω/akoloutheo) Me” (Mk 10:21).

No Strings Attached

Giving it all up and following the Lord means putting what used to be important in the rear view mirror. It means going where He goes, watching what He does, and doing what He says.

Ultimately, giving up everything and following Christ is living life with no strings attached. Nothing gets in your way. You’re all in.  

Making Jesus the Boss

Now it’s not like we simply chuck it all. Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is like running away and joining the circus. We make Him the boss in every part of our lives. It IS what being the Lord means, after all.

A Vivid Picture

The apostle formerly known as Saul gives us a, shall we say, “vivid” picture of what that looks like in his life. Stuff that once was a priority suddenly doesn’t seem so important anymore. 

“Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him” (Phil 3:8-9a).

A Big Steaming Pile

What makes this such a striking image is the word the NLT translates “garbage (Gr. σκυβαλον/skubalon).” Garbage sells it short. It literally describes a big steaming pile. Yeah, you read that right.

Compared to Christ, Paul considers it all poop. When you put it that way, it makes it a little easier to abandon, doesn’t it? 

Our Savior Is the Standard

Before we hear Jesus’ response, I’d like to throw something else out there. Is it just me or does Pete’s statement seem a kinda cocky and prideful? Seems like he’s comparing the sacrifice of the Twelve with the failure of the wealthy go-getter to do the same.

It’s powerful reminder to me to stop measuring myself to others like God is playing some sort of righteousness-by-comparison game. Our sinless Savior is the standard we judge ourselves against.

It reminds me of a conversation Pete has with Jesus after His resurrection. The apostle gets hung up on rumors about his buddy John. Christ tells him to slow his roll. “What is that to you? As for you, follow Me” (Jn 21:22).

Rocky’s onto Something

Meanwhile back in Mark 10, the Lord lets Rocky know that he’s onto something. “Yes…and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for My sake and for the Good News’” (v29). 

The Way It Should Be

A closer look at the original language here reveals how Jesus wants to trust what He says. “Yes…I assure you” is actually the Greek word we translate “amen” (Gr. αμην/amen).

You see, “amen” means a whole lot more than simply signing off to God at the end of your prayer. It’s reaffirming that something is indeed true. It’s the way it should be. It’s a way of emphasizing the voracity of what’s being said.

Just Call Him “Amen”

And it that’s not enough, did you know that one of Jesus’ heavenly nicknames is “the Amen” (Rev 3:14)? This is the same Savior who has the audacity to claim He’s “the Truth” (Jn 14:6). Not just a truth. THE Truth!

That’s exactly the reason Paul writes, “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding ‘Yes!’ And through Christ, our ‘Amen’ (which means ‘Yes’) ascends to God for His glory” (1Cor 1:20).

So the Amen wants us to know we can take to bank that what He’s about to say. He There’s no need to fact check what He tells us.

Playing the Long Game

You can easily break down Jesus’ words in verses 29 and 30 as short term loss and long term gain. We need remember that He’s rarely about immediate gratification. The Lord is always playing the long game.

Sacrifice in the Now

The Son of Man begins by describing what His followers must sacrifice in the now. “Everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for My sake and for the Good News’” (v29).

The ESV Study Bible explains it this way. Jesus is not encouraging His followers to abandon the responsibilities we have to those at home. 

He IS the Gospel!

But, let’s be honest, sometimes family members freak out when someone they love places their trust in the Lord. And our commitment to Christ may lead to times of temporary separation.

“For My sake and for the Gospel” (29) is a fascinating phrase. In saying this, Jesus equates Himself with the Good News. He IS the Gospel! That means the Gospel is nothing less than a personal relationship with Christ.

The Pole Position

So am I willing to put my relationship of Jesus in the permanent pole position ahead of everything and everyone else in my life? Even my own family? My home? My siblings? My parents? My property? 

Yeah, I know. This is scary stuff.

Just Be Patient

But the Son of God turns the corner and begins describing just some of the incredible benefits He showers upon us if we’ll just be patient. He promises us blessings both in the near future and into eternity.

The Lord says His disciples “will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life” (v30). 

The Heavenly Benefits Package

In other words, those who are willing to abandon all they have in order to follow Jesus will not only get it all back…and then some! If you think that’s amazing, just wait until you taste what’s waiting for you in eternity!!

When Christ says “now,” He means RIGHT NOW! The moment we take the step of faith away from what we have toward the Lord, we receive more than we could ever imagine. And He’s not simply talking about the heavenly benefits package.

Our New Spiritual Family

As adopted kids into His Dad’s kingdom, the size of our new spiritual family explodes exponentially. We’re no longer limited to our blood relatives. Our brothers, sisters, moms, and kids are everywhere. 

But wait. Jesus left somebody out of that list that He mentioned back in the previous verse. He doesn’t mention Dad. That’s because we gain our fantastic new Heavenly Father!

Add a Couple of Zeros 

The scope of what we receive just in this life is hard to calculate. The Lord promises it will be “a hundred times as many” (v30). The Greek word here (Gr. ‘εκατονταπλασιονα/hekatontaplasiona) literally means to multiply by 100.

Math isn’t my strength but I’m guessing that’s on the low side. What we gain in obedience to Christ is beyond anything we could ever wrap our brains around. If you want to try to add them up, knock yourself out. Feel free to add a couple of zeros.

Leaving and Receiving

Don’t miss His point. Whatever we sacrifice for the sake of our Savior, He has a way of multiplying it back to us. It may not be the same. But you can bet it will be more and better.

If you leave, you will receive even more. If you separate, He will proliferate. But remember, Jesus can’t fill your hands with blessing until you release the kung fu grip you have on what you’re already holding.

A Broken World

But did you catch that pesky little phrase before He gets to the eternal part? “Along with persecution” (v30). Yeah, that’s the one. So what’s the dealio?

The Lord doesn’t want us to miss that we live in a broken world that is ultimately opposed to His way of doing things. As a result, trusting in Him puts a target on our backs.

Just before heading back to heaven, Jesus tells His team to expect hard times. “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33).

A Great Reward Awaits

In His most famous sermon, the Lord says harassment for our faith in Him in this life actually translates into an eternal goodness. 

“God blesses you people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are My followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven” (Mt 5:12).

A Peak behind the Curtain of Paradise

That’s exactly what Christ goes on to say here in chapter ten of Mark’s Gospel. While we can be sure of hard times on this side of heaven, just wait. “And in the world to come that person will have eternal life” (v30).

Any persecution in the present pales in comparison to eternity with Jesus. Be sure, “eternal life” is WAY more than just perpetual existence. The word we translate “life” (Gr. ζωη/zoe) emphasizes the overwhelming quality not the unending quantity. 

John Burke’s book “Imagine Heaven” gives us what could be the best peak behind the curtain of paradise outside of God’s Word. Be sure that we’ll be doing WAY more than wearing togas, sitting on clouds, and plucking harps.

Closing the Loop

This talk of eternity closes the loop on how this whole conversation started with the rich upstart back in Mark 10:17. Remember how he asks the Lord about how to get his hands on heaven.

In the ESV study notes, Hans F. Bayer points out how the discussion ends where it started, with the topic of everlasting life. Here’s our Savior’s answer. Loosen your grip on whatever you hold dear. Hang onto Jesus with everything you’ve got. 

A Closer Look at the Finish Line

The Son of God then gives us a closer look at the finish line of mortal life. “But many who are the greatest will be the least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then” (v31). 

Power Players

Once again, I love how the original language sheds light on what we read. “Greatest” (Gr. προτος/protos) literally means first in line. It’s someone who’s a big wig and a power player.

Even in the First Century, money and status are equivalent to a fast pass for life. No waiting. No locked doors. What you want. When you want. How you want.

DMV Life

On the other hand, “least important” (Gr. εσχατος/eschatos) describes being at the back of the line. It paints a picture of living every single day like you’re stuck at the DMV. 

A Heavenly Photo Finish

So does Jesus mean with all His “first-is-last-last-is-first” talk? Is He going all Ricky Bobby on us? You know, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” Is this way of saying He’s going to flip the final standings upside down? 

I think John MacArthur is all over it with his take. He believes the Lord is describing an eternal dead heat. It’s going to be a heavenly photo finish with every follower of Jesus tied for first. And if everyone’s tied for first, they’re also tied for last.

The Great Equalizer

Your money, power, and status don’t get you in first. Your poverty, weakness, and insignificance don’t keep you in the back. God’s grace is the great equalizer.

When it’s all said and done, first is last and last is first. Billy Graham says it best. “The ground is level at the foot of the cross.”

©2019

Jay Jennings

The Original Millennial

A Conversational Nuke

Looking to drop a conversational nuke at your next dinner party? Politics and religion are tinker toys compared the latest cultural hand grenade. Millennials. You can feel your blood pressure rise just reading the word, can’t you?

Ah, Millennials. Some folks call them Generation Y. Why? Because they come right after Gen X, that’s why. These are folks born between 1993 and 2000. 

Millennial Bashing

Forget golf and antiquing, Boomers and Busters favorite past time is bashing Millennials. You’ve heard it. Shoot, you’ve probably said it. Narcissistic. Lazy. Coddled. Entitled. “Selfie” centered. Materialistic. Everybody gets a trophy.

But they have plenty of positive characteristics too. They tend to be confident, self-expressive, upbeat, and open to new ideas. Who wouldn’t enjoy somebody like that around instead of some cranky old dude yelling at kids to get off his lawn?

An Impressive Up-and-Comer

Would you believe me if I told you folks like this have been around a long time. A VERY long time. We meet one in chapter ten of Mark’s Gospel when Christ and His crew are traveling from the boondocks of Galilee to the big city of Jerusalem (Mk 10:17-22).

An impressive up-and-comer has gotten wind that the radical Rabbi/Carpenter is coming through town. He’s got a question. A big question. An eternal question. Just tell me what to do, Jesus. There’s just one problem. He doesn’t like the answer.

We don’t know the guy’s name but we’ve come to know him as the rich, young ruler. We could just as easily call him the Original Millennial. It’s just not THAT millennium! It may be the First Century, but the guy checks a lot of the boxes. Young. In a hurry. Focused on himself. 

THE Trip to J City

We pick up the action with the dude in a dead sprint for our Savior. “As Jesus was starting out on His way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to Him, knelt down, and asked…” (v17).

The Lord isn’t just making any trip to J City. He’s making THE Trip. The one where He has a date with death on a Roman cross at a gruesome place called the Skull. But as Jesus has already told His team twice (Mk 8:31; 9:31), it will end with Him strutting out of the cemetery three days after His death. 

Young, Rich, and Successful

Two of Jesus’ other biographers, Matthew and Luke, both describe this very same meeting (Mt 19:16-22; Lk 18:18-23). But only Mark includes the details of the trip to the big city as well as the man running up to the Lord at the last minute and kneeling to ask his question.

Matt describes the guy as a “young man” and in doing so uses a word (Gr. νεανισκος/neoniskos) that describes him as youthful. It fits someone past puberty and still single. One Bible scholar says it usually paints a picture of a person between the ages of 24 and 40.

Luke tips us off that this guy is a leader of some kind. He’s flying up the corporate ladder. He knows success. To this point, nothing has slowed him down from what he wants.

Cutting to the Chase

The young hot shot sure shows the Son of God the proper outward respect by dropping to his knees when they meet. Not a bad move since he’s basically barged into His office without an appointment.

No time for small talk. He cuts to the chase. Jesus, You’re a busy man just like me. Let’s not pussy foot and around. I’ll get right to the point. “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (v17). 

The Cosmic To-Do List

Calling Him “Good Teacher” seems like the right thing to do. I mean, have you heard what He’s saying?!? He regularly blows the minds of His audiences. But as we’ll see in a second, Jesus is not just a GREAT Teacher…but so much more!

If anybody knows the answer to this question, it’s gotta be Him, right? So the man asks the Son of Man to give him the cosmic to-do list that will ensure He’s on God’s good side when it’s all said and done.

Leveling up to Eternal Life

Let’s face it. Who doesn’t want the answer to THAT question? We’re all looking for the ultimate cheat code for leveling up to eternal life. What do I have to accomplish? What do I need on my resume? How well do I need to perform? Just tell me what to do next, Jesus. I got this.

It’s interesting that both of the Greek terms we translate as “eternal (Gr. αιωνιος/aionios) life (Gr. ζωη/zoe)” focus on quality rather than quantity. It’s not so much that you’ll live forever but how awesome it will be!

Eternity in Our Hearts

Each one of us knows deep in our soul that there’s gotta be something more than this life. Where did that come from? The wisest person to ever walk the planet (other than Jesus of course!) says God “has planted eternity in the human heart” (Ecc 3:11).

Heavenly Brownie Points

Just tell me what to do next, Jesus. I got this! The guy assumes that he can perform his way into eternal life. (Insert sad trombone here). Sorry, but it doesn’t work that way. Could that be the reason we’re called human beings and not human doings?  

The bad news is we can never pile up enough heavenly brownie points to get there. But the Good News is (and I do mean GOOD NEWS!) this is EXACTLY why the Lord left heaven to make the most amazing search-and-rescue mission the universe has ever seen. He came to bring us life! “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (Jn 10:10).

It’s Who You Know

So when it comes to the life that Jesus is talking about, it’s NOT about what you need to do. It’s all about Who you need to know. And if you’re wondering who that is, you get three guesses and the first two don’t count.

Christ defines eternal life to His crew the night before His crucifixion when He prays to His Dad. “And this is the way to have eternal life—to know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the One you sent to earth” (Jn 17:3). 

Do You Know Who You’re Talking to?

Back at His meeting with the Original Millennial, the Messiah answers his question with a question.  “Why do you call Me good?” (v18). It’s Jesus' way of saying, “It’s all about who you know and you have no idea Who you’re talking to, do you?”

The Lord tries to help a brother out by dropping a not-so-subtle hint. “Only God is truly good” (v18). God’s own goodness sets the standard for good. And here’s a little secret. He’s perfect. Absolutely perfect. He’s so good that “good” seems to be a ridiculous understatement. 

Righteousness by Comparison

The big idea? Stop judging yourself against others. There’s no such thing as righteousness by comparison. That’s exactly the mistake one particular Pharisee makes when he swings by the temple to worship. 

He catches a glimpse of a slimy tax collecting traitor and then prays, “I thank You, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector!” (Lk 18:11).

God Is Good and You’re Not

The Son of Man wants this guy to realize that he falls far short of God’s definition of good. A guy named Paul puts it this in a letter to some friends in Rome. “No one does good, not a single one…for everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Rom 3:12, 23). Heads up, heaven doesn’t grade on a curve.

Don’t miss Jesus’ point. God is good. You’re not. I’m not. We all need Him. Every single person who’s ever lived needs a Savior. You. Me. Us. Them. As a buddy of mine likes to say, the ground is level at the foot of the cross. So get over yourself.

Six Out of Ten

The Lord asks the young leader to compare his life to God’s original Top Ten. “But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother’” (v19).

If you’re scoring along at home, you noticed that while Jesus points him to the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:3-17; Dt 5:7-21), He only mentions six of them. What’s up that?  Is it possible the Lord forgot to include them?

The Horizontal and Vertical

For quite a while (and by “quite a while,” I mean a couple of thousand years!), folks who study the Hebrew Bible have divided the Top Ten into two sections. The first four are vertical and guide the Israelites in their relationship with God. 

The last six are horizontal and tell humans how to get along with others. Interestingly, Jesus only asks the young dude how he’s doing with the horizontal. What’s the dealio? Stick around. We'll get to that. And I think you’re going to find this fascinating. And probably just a little bit convicting.

Reaching up and Reaching out

In the meantime, the Lord wants us to know that our relationship with Him is tied directly to our relationships with people. We can’t compartmentalize our faith. As my friend Ross Turner liked to say, you can’t reach up without reaching out. One without the other just doesn’t work.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

The Original Millennial wastes no time in saying to our Savior, “Teacher…I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young” (v20). Notice how he drops the “good” part and addresses Jesus simply as “Teacher”? Sure seems clear that he doesn’t believe He’s God. If only he knew.

The rich ruler responds to Jesus that the Ten Commandments aren’t so tough. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. No murder. Check. No adultery. Check. No stealing. Check. No lying or fraud. Check. Parental respect. Checkity-check!

Raising the Bar

There’s almost a cocky “come on, give me something a little harder than that" attitude in his answer. But obeyed them ALL? Really?!? Come on, dude. Hasn’t he heard about Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7). It totally went viral.

In Christ’s most famous message, He continually raises the bar on the Top Ten. It’s not just what you do but what you think! So think again!! Obey them all. Please.

An Impressive Religious Resume

If you don’t believe me, take it from Saul, another one of the top rising stars in the Jewish faith. After he became the apostle we know as Paul, he tells his friends over in Philippi that there’s no one who had a more impressive religious resume that he did (Phil 3:4-6). Period.

The man from Tarsus has quite the religious LinkedIn profile. Circumcised at eight days old. Not a drop of that filthy Gentile blood. Proud member of Team Benjamin. A top shelf Hebrew. He was even a member of the exclusive Pharisee club. I mean, there’s nobody better at obeying God’s laws than they are!

A Big Steaming Pile

That all changed when the resurrected Christ blindsides him outside of Damascus. That’s the moment he realized all that what he thought would really impress God was actually a big steaming pile compared to a relationship with Jesus (Phil 3:7-10). 

Some people think this guy may actually be the pre-Paul Saul. I personally don’t think it is but you can certainly see some similarities. Whatever the case, he still thinks that he can pull off complete obedience.

Break One, Break Them All

There’s one big problem with that. It’s impossible. Jesus’ kid brother James says if we break one of God’s commands, we break all of them (James 2:10). Talk about the ultimate pass/fail!

Nobody Loves You More than Jesus

Despite the guy’s ridiculous response, the Lord doesn’t laugh in his face. He doesn’t throw him under the bus. Instead His heavenly heart breaks for young dude. “Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him” (v21).

You know why? Nobody loves him more than Jesus. We can say the same about you. About me. About your spouse. About your children. About your parents. Absolutely nobody on the planet loves them more than He does. 

A Distant Second

Chew on that for a minute. How crazy are you about the one you married? How head over heals are you for your kids? You would do anything for them. But as over the top as your love is for them, it’s a distant second for our Savior’s crazy love for them. 

Jesus loves you when He looks at you too. And He loves every single person we make eye contact with wherever we go. Everyone we meet when we’re walking down the street is someone Christ loves and came to save.

Nick at Night

How much does God love people? The Apostle John tells the story of a guy named Nick came to see the Lord one night. Jesus tells Nick, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16).

Did you catch that? God loves the entire WORLD! As a result, He gave His only Son. For whom? EVERYONE who believes! There’s a reason these are of the most important words to ever leave the Lord’s lips!

More Than a Feeling

While Jesus’ heart breaks for the Original Millennial, His love for him is so much more than a warm fuzzy feeling. As the boys in the band Boston sing, it’s more than a feeling. God calls us to a love that actually does something. 

And that’s exactly what the Son of God does here. He loves him so much that He’s willing to say what the dude needs to hear. It’s precisely BECAUSE He loves him that He has to say something.

Speaking the Truth in Love

In a letter to folks in Ephesus, Paul says that speaking the truth in love is one of the key ways God uses to make us more and more like Jesus (Eph 4:15). We want others to hear the truth because we love them. Those moments are good for everybody involved!

He Can Almost Taste It

It’s at this point that Jesus begins to answer the rich ruler’s question. “There is still one thing you haven’t done” (v21). Just one thing. One single thing. This is what he came for. He’s so close he can almost taste it.

But let’s press pause and recap. There’s a wee bit of math here and we need to make sure everything adds up. Christ has just asked about how he’s doing with the Ten Commandments…and only listed six out of ten. Hmm. What’s the dealio?

A Single Thing

The Son of God wants to make it easy for the guy. Since I’m not exactly a wiz at math, cutting it down to a single thing on the to-do list works for me. 

Can’t you just see our ambitious go-getter? Okay, Jesus. Lay it on me. I’m all ears.“Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me” (v21).

The Thing That Stands in the Way

In doing so, the Lord ruthlessly attacks the one thing that stands in the guy’s way of trusting God. His portfolio. His wealth. His stuff. It’s the one thing he’s worked his young life to accumulate. Turns out it’s THE obstacle in getting the one thing he wants.

One big idea with four simple steps. Notice I said simple, NOT easy. One, leave immediately. Two, liquidate your assets. Three, find folks who REALLY need it. Four, then hustle on back to follow Jesus.

Worshipping Wealth

Here’s the connection to the Big Ten. The young ruler may not have realized it but he’s turned his wealth into the object of his worship. The first four commands reinforce God’s rightful place at the top spot of our lives (Ex 20:3-11). 

Putting anyone or anything else where God belongs never works out well for us. And it’s not just those things that are obvious. It also includes God’s blessings like family, kids, and church. Mark Driscoll likes to say it this way. Making a good thing into a god thing is a bad thing.

Idol Factories

We have this nasty habit of turning anything into an idol. John Calvin hit the nail on the head when he said the human heart is an idol factory. We can crank out stuff to replace God at an incredible pace.

Wealth isn’t necessarily evil. There are lots of godly rich folks all throughout the pages of Scripture. Abraham. Job. David. Solomon. Joseph of Arimathea. God blesses certain people with bigger bank accounts so they can bless others.

Money’s Dark Side

But money comes with a dark side. Paul warns his boy Tim that the love of money is actually the root of all evil (1Tim 6:10). In His most famous message, Jesus drops the mic on the issue. “You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money” (Mt 6:24). Boom.

The Vertical and the Horizontal

From our Savior’s perspective, it was crystal clear that this guy’s stuff is his idol. His money sits on the throne of his life. According to Ben Christian, “The ‘one thing’ is about God, or more accurately stated, the young man had a god that was not God. His wealth, his status, his money was his God.”

We need to understand that our relationship with God is directly tied to our relationships with others. Let me put it another way. We can’t separate the vertical and the horizontal. Our relationship with God has a direct impact on how we treat others, and vice versa.

Starving Unhealthy Appetites

Why sell it all? Seems kinda drastic, don’t you think? That’s because the only cure for an unhealthy appetite is to starve it, not feed it. Getting just a little bit more will never satisfy. Just ask anyone who’s in recovery from any kind of addiction. 

The Usual Suspects

So I gotta ask. What’s your one thing? What is it in your life that stands in the way of total abandonment to Jesus? What have you put in the pole position of your personal worship that should only belong to God?

Here’s just a few of the usual suspects. Family. Marriage. Home. Career. Contract. Image. 401k. Security. Control. Pleasure. Sex. Do I need to go on? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

A Punch in the Gut

Meanwhile, the conversation between Christ and the young ruler comes to a close. Once the Lord gives him the “one thing,” you can hear the brakes squealing. “At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions” (v22).

This First Century Millennial isn’t just disappointed. A closer look at Jesus’ words in the original Greek lets us know the guy is absolutely blindsided. He’s shocked and appalled. He grieves deeply when hears what He says. It’s like a punch in the gut.

Replacing It with Something Better

The one thing Son of God has just him to give up is the one thing he won’t let go of. He has a way of doing that to all of us. That’s because He wants to replace it with something so much better.

And just what is that? Himself. Jesus wants us to know that God is the ultimate blessing. He’s the only thing that truly satisfies. The Psalms are full of cries for more of Him.

Thirsting for God

“My soul thirsts for You; my whole body longs for You in this parched and weary land where there is no water” (Ps 63:1).

“Whom have I in heaven but You? I desire You more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and may spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever” (Ps 73:25-6).

Things Haven’t Changed

A couple of thousand years later there are a couple of things that haven’t changed. One, the so-called Original Millennial reminds us that these folks are nothing new. They’ve been around in one form or another for quite a while. 

Two, it doesn’t matter if you’re Gen Y, Gen X, Boomer, or the Greatest Generation. Jesus wants us to want what is the absolute best for us. That’s Himself. Like the young ruler, it may be money. It may be something else. He has a way of pointing out what it is.

So, let me ask you again, what’s your one thing?

©2019

Jay Jennings