What would you not do for Jesus?

[James_Newman]

Matthew 19:16-23
16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
19 Honor thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

This rich young man was not willing to give up his earthly riches for the heavenly riches of the kingdom of God. There may be a time when Jesus calls us to give up something for Him. It may be something or someone that we love dearly. It might even be our own life. Will we be willing to give it up?

Matthew 10:37-39
37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Is there anything to great to give for Him who gave His life to save us? What am I holding on to that I would not be willing to part with? What would I put before God?

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

 

[mountainrun]

I think Jesus' point in the passage was to show the rich young man that he had not truly kept the law as perfectly as he thought.
The two greatest commandments were to love God with all our heart and soul and to love your neighbor as yourself.
Since he was not willing to give up his wealth to gain eternal life, he didn't truly love God with all his heart and soul and since he was not willing to give it to the poor, he didn't actually love his neighbor as he loved himself.
I guess we could throw in the commandment about covetousness as well.

Jesus has a disconcerting habit of showing us a mirror so we can get a better look at ourselves and our faults.

But enough about me James.

When are you having your sale?

"If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast..."

:wavey:

MR

 

[Helen]

the hardest lesson the Lord has given me so far took place when I was 30. I had a husband I adored and the cutest little son in the world, whom I also adored.

I also was dying. A cyst had ruptured on an ovary early Monday morning and I was scheduled for surgery Thursday morning. What no one knew what that it had also touched off my appendix and I had peritonitis.

By Wednesday night I knew I was dying. There is no way to soft-peddle that. I did not know what was wrong, but the abdominal pain was so intense and I was so weak that something in me told me this was it. (By the way, I did die in surgery and was shocked back and then spent the next three days 'trying' to die all over again...)

So I wrote letters to my husband and son and stuck them in my nightstand drawer. I said good-bye, commended them to God, and that was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I had to give up my husband and son to God that night.

Since then, I have learned to hold a little more lightly to the people I love, being so aware that at any moment I might be asked to give one of them up.

It all belongs to Him. We all are under His dominion. Since that time I have been broke and I have had money. I have been sick and I have been well. I have been hated and I have been respected and liked. Nothing has been as hard as that one Wednesday evening almost 28 1/2 years ago.

It's all His. I know that now.

 

[Tom Butler]

Helen, thank you. As I read your story, tears welled up. I just read it to my wife. Tears welled up. Three years ago, she ruptured an aneurysm in her brain while she was driving home from work. She survived the surgery and 17 days in intensive care and lives today by the grace of God.

While she lay in ICU in a hospital 140 miles away, her father made the funeral arrangements for her mother (his wife) for doctors told him she would not live much longer.

But her mother did not die then. She lived for five more months. My wife (not my wife then) came home to recuperate and spent those five months at her mother's side and was holding her hand when the end came.

For that reason, she considers the aneurysm a gift from God. Her entire outlook on life has changed, to a total dependence on God.

I suppose you could say this is more about what she gained than she gave up.

BTW, this is my 1000th post. For this milestone, I'd much rather be writing about this than debating.