Deepening Your Christian Life XVII

Mark 10:17-45

Let's get honest. We know who we are in this story. By the world's standards and by the standards of history we are wealthy people. As the kids were growing up, I got to enjoy the remake of "The Jungle Book" . The closing scene in "Monkey City" (the place where all the ancient treasures were stored) shows the villain running from the midst of the collapsing city with as much gold as he can carry. He falls into the water and is unable to unload the gold and is attacked by a vicious snake in the water and dies. All around the man are skulls who have fallen to the same fate in the past. With wealth is the reality of attachment: having to have the income to stay at the standard of living we have become accustomed, constant worries over maintaining that which we buy, protecting what we buy from thieves and so called "acts of God," and sorting out the value of those things in our relationships with family and friends. If we admit it, most of us are caught in the web of the wealth we have created. We can't even think of selling it all or leaving it all to follow Christ and be at his disposal. Obviously, neither could the rich man. He would have preferred the discussion to have stayed about the moral value of finding life by following the commandments. I wonder if we, too, try to substitute a moral life for a life of obedience and surrender to God's direction for our lives.

The "eye of a needle" passage (vss. 23-25) is often misunderstood. One of the gates through which people and their animals entered the city of Jerusalem was actually called "the eye of a needle." This gate was low enough that camels and other beasts of burden had to get down on their bellies to go through. For many animals, especially camels, that would also require that the camel have all of what it was carrying unloaded. People have often asked if Jesus was anti-wealth. Jesus had a clear emphasis on reaching the poor, but his disciples and other followers represented a broad income spectrum. What Jesus seemed to be against was the attachment of wealth. James wrote that "the love of money" not money itself was "the root of all evil." The preacher and fundraiser in me says Jesus could have used a better approach with this man, but the standard for Jesus is clear. He wants us to be available to follow him at any moment. To do that, we have to be unencumbered. I am not even close to such a standard, yet I know that it would be better for our whole family if we were. What steps can each of us take to be a little freer to follow Christ in our lives? I find verses 30-31 to be humorous. The disciples say, "We did all that. What's in it for us?" Jesus tells them their reward will be great in this world and in the world to come. Do you really believe that?

But right near this discussion of money is the question of power and positional authority posed by the always-competitive and status-seeking James and John. Matthew 20:20-28 even has their mom getting into the act. Again, Jesus does not see it as wrong to have power...as long as we are willing to let go of it. We must be willing to be "slave of all." What energy might we have if we weren't grabbing for power and status (including working to keep it and protect it), but instead poured ourselves into service both inside and outside the church?
Jesus has set the example. He had the wealth and gave it away. He had the power and status and, in the words of Philippians 2, "emptied himself and took the form of a servant..." Christ has only one kind of leader - a servant leader; one kind of minister - a ministering servant. Have a great day in our Lord Jesus Christ.