The Peril and the Promise of Being Met by Jesus

Sorry to have been away for a while.  A computer crash and life have gotten in the way.  And I have to confess to procrastination.  I am not all that comfortable with the passage from three weeks ago.  The sermon was based on Mark 10:17-31, discussing the "rich" and the kingdom of God.  You know the story, rich man-what do I have to do-give everything away-camel and eye of the needle-etc.

OK, so from this passage I infer that I can't buy my way into eternal life, can't earn it through good deeds, I can't accumulate brownie points for following the rules, so then how, exactly, do I get it?  I think I am living a good life, just like the poor guy in scripture.  In the context of our culture I'm not rich, but  I am comfortable and admit to having a lot of stuff.  Can you see me squirming uncomfortably?  I feel for the rich man in this passage.

I can't help but wonder what was going through the rich guy's mind as he walked away.   Was what he had to give up so much more than what others give up?  Is the relinquishing literal, or is it figurative.  Was he worried about providing for his family?  I think I learned in Job that we get good and bad, whether we deserve it or not.  So we get things and we lose things, whether we deserve it or not.  Was it control issues (is it for me)?  Is it about the fear of not having the social standing that we want?  That is a big part of it for me, especially living in a culture that bombards me with the message that more, bigger, newer, shinier is success.  Anything less is failure.  Maybe the message is that he needs to give up his faith in things, and put his faith in God.  That raises a whole host of other questions for me.  How do I do that?  Is is proportionate, like the widow with the two coins?  How do I know if I'm doing it right? What about the rest of my family and my responsibility to them?  Is progress enough?  Am I enough?

So, following Jesus is not easy.  It is not a panacea.  It will not protect you from bad things, or make you wealthy in material things.  No surprise that the guy couldn't decide right there on the spot when he realized those things.  But, what really stand out for me is Jesus doesn't condemn the man.  Even when the man doesn't enthusiastically go along, promise to give everything up, when he walks away Jesus simply loves him.  By doing that Jesus leaves the door open and maybe the guy walks through that door later on.  That gives me hope that the door is still open for all (and by all, I mean me).