Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Failure

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question:  “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”  “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him.  “Only God is truly good.  But to answer your question, you know the commandments:  ‘You must not commit adultery.  You must not murder.  You must not steal.  You must not testify falsely.  Honor your father and mother.’”  The man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”  When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done.  Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me.”  But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich.  When Jesus saw this, he said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!  In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”  Those who heard this said, “Then who in the world can be saved?”  He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.”  Peter said, “We’ve left our homes to follow you.”  “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come.”                       Luke 18:18-30

One reason skeptics have always sought ways to discredit Jesus’ divinity is the obvious flaw in their wishy-washy lack of faith and the obvious discomfort felt over having to deal with someone who uncovers the soft underbelly of their weak argument.  What’s really at stake for the skeptic is the risk of being uncovered as a failure.  Ouch!
This rich young ruler had a terrible insecurity about his life’s path and if he was on the right track.  He came to Jesus for advice, or, more likely, simple affirmation that he really was a good man and had nothing to worry about.  His was the garden variety, bland and ambiguous blur of non-faith that wants I’m OK; You’re OK to rule the day.  His question was begging a pacifying placebo; just tell me I’m ok so I can feel good and not worry about this thing on my insides that’s eating my lunch day after stinking day!  But Jesus never settles for a good feeling; He’s all about the truth that sets one free[2].
Even human psychiatrists know better than to tell you what to do.  A main principle of psychiatry is that the answers we seek to our deepest questions are already locked within our minds; a psychological helper is one who comes alongside to help uncover what you already know.  And that is the dark truth the rich young ruler did not want to face.  He understood, firstly that he had ignored how his wealth had changed him, enabled him to avoid the poor.  His soul craved goodness (that’s why he raised that issue when he went to Jesus), but he was deeply afraid it was out of his reach.  Jesus reflected that fear back to him, and the mirror revealed a not-too-pretty truth…the young man saw just how tied he was to his riches (which are transitory, a mere mist that will fade), and how uncommitted he was to the reality of eternity.  He trusted his money more than his Creator.  It is no wonder he walked away dejected and broken, all the fingers pointing at his failure were attached to his own hands!
For You Today
If you’ve stayed this long with me today, and if you haven’t confessed your love of money recently, you may be avoiding the mirror. 
Let Jesus hold the truth mirror up in the rich young man’s story; it’s not pretty, but it’s not failure.  The only real failure in you or me is refusing to look at the truth.  But if you trust Him enough to let Him show you what’s deep-down inside you, that truth will set you free
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

 
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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of  Pixabay.com     Unless otherwise noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©

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