"The Motions"

"And as he was setting out on his journey,
a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him,
"Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good?
No one is good except God alone.

You know the commandments:

'Do not murder,

Do not commit adultery,

Do not steal,
Do not bear false witness,

Do not defraud,
Honor your father and mother.'"
And he said to him,
"Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth."
And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him,
"You lack one thing:
go, sell all that you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."

Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful,

for he had great possessions."

-- Mark 10: 17 - 22, ESV

The story of the rich young ruler is well known. He wanted desperately, I believe, to know that He would spent eternity in heaven. He knew the commandments. He knew Who to ask. But Jesus, Who can see deep into our hearts, knew what stood between this man and the salvation of his soul: his riches. His wealth was this young man's passion. He was unwilling to part with it, even to gain eternal life.

"Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

-- Matthew 10: 39, ESV

Jesus demands our all. Nothing else will do. So the question is this: are you willing to lose your life - to give up everything that is precious to you without reservation - and follow Christ, or are you, like the rich ruler, going to walk away because the cost is too high? What is it that you are holding to so tightly? Is it a possession? Your spouse? Your children? Lay it at the feet of Jesus.


If you've followed this blog, you know my passion for music. I highlighted Matthew West's song, You Are Everything in this post. His latest single, The Motions, speaks of giving everything for Christ instead of simply "going through the motions", pretending to be His follower.

"I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything?
Instead of going through the motions"

Holding Faith,