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Count It As Loss Not long ago [which means it is near enough to remember], just about the most valuable possession I thought I had was my car. Oh, to most people it might not have seemed so, but it was to me at that time. It was a small, black, two-seater that handled like a go-kart and got great gas mileage, to boot. It had a decent stereo and a sunroof and it was just a ball to drive. I would sometimes make excuses to just go driving, I enjoyed it so much. I even remember one night, during a Monday evening Bible study with a few others, we were talking about what Jesus meant when He said that it would only be those who leave "houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My names sake" who would "receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life" (Matt. 19:29). Someone asked me directly, "If Jesus asked you to give up your car, would you?" I hesitated for a second and answered, "Well, I guess." It didn't sound like a convincing answer even to me! I had to admit to myself that the car might be a little too valuable to me and it caused me to do some serious self-examination of my priorities. Was it that valuable to me? Now that is not to say that I valued the car so much I neglected my service to God. But it was still, in my mind at least, a very valuable object I would have had difficulty leaving behind. But I did not like the fact that it was so valuable to me, and I made a conscious effort to realign my values. I believe many of us, from time to time, have that problem. It is not that we are all-out materialistic people who are greedy and materialistic at heart; it's just that we sometimes put too high a value on things that can stand in the way of effective and acceptable service to God. I believe that is the very thing to which Jesus directed His words in the text of Matthew 19:16-30, and it is a question we must all ask ourselves occasionally: What is the most valuable thing to you? Or, we might ask: Would you give up ______ for Jesus? In the context, Jesus even names some things we must be willing to leave behind if we seek the eternal reward. Let us consider those things today. Houses. Jesus meant exactly what he said in this context; we must be willing to leave even our houses for His sake, if need be. But He also meant more than that, too. Jesus spoke about the need for His disciples to leave behind any material possession for His sake, and that can be seen from the previous scene that led Him to say these words to the disciples. When the rich, young, ruler, went away sorrowful because Jesus said he must sell his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor, he illustrated the danger of valuing personal possessions more than Jesus. This man was willing to trade eternal life for temporary possessions! But are we any better? I cannot speak for you and it is you who will have to answer in Judgment, so it is you who must answer that question for yourself. If there is any material possession that we value so much we would rather have it than eternal life, it is clear our priorities are skewed and a change of heart must be made immediately! Let us not forget the words of Jesus: "You cannot serve God and money" (Matt. 6:24). Family. From my experience and the experience of many others, this is the one thing that will prevent more people from obtaining eternal life than any other. We must be willing to choose Jesus over family, but I find that is rarely the case. More times than not, when I have sat down with individuals and studied straight out of the Bible, it is inevitable that we come to a point of disagreement. They value their family relationship more than their relationship with Jesus Christ, and as long as that is the more valuable thing, they will continue to put Jesus second. Not until we are willing to love Jesus more than family (Matt. 10:37) will we be on the path to eternal life. In fact, Jesus said those who love family more than Him are "not worthy" of Him! Work. Often overlooked in this text are the words of Jesus regarding this factor. When Jesus spoke of those who would leave behind "lands" ("farms"; NASB) for His sake, He was speaking to people whose very livelihood was based on those fields, so Jesus was speaking of the need to be willing to leave behind our source of income our source of financial support and trust in Him if we truly seek eternal life. In the first century, many Christians had to leave behind family when they chose Christ over the Old Law and the system of faith that was all they had known up until that time. Their choice to follow Jesus put them at odds with those who held to the Old Law and those who denied Jesus refused to have any business dealings with the new converts. Some individuals, no doubt, lost their businesses because of their choice. But they left it behind because they saw something far more valuable (Heb. 10:34). Dear reader, please understand that there is nothing in this world as valuable as your soul. You could own the whole world and, if you lost your soul, you would have nothing (Matt. 16:25). Whatever it may be that stands in the way of eternal life, count it as loss and turn your eyes toward heaven. Your gain will be worth it! Steven Harper (edited, D.T.) |