CHANGE
“Jesus felt genuine love for this man as he looked at him. “You lack only one thing,” he told him. “Go and sell all you have and give money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Mark 10:21 {NLT}
This morning as I made my way from the highway off ramp and came to rest at an intersection; I caught a glimpse of him. His eyes were puffy and red probably from a lack of sleep; his clothes were wrinkled, dirty, and stained with sweat. His boot laces were trailing behind him as he walked in between the cars rubbing his stomach and cupping his hand as to gesture he was hungry and needed money. For the most part his gestures went unnoticed from the small audience of drivers that have all seemed to have found their favorite song on the radio, dropped a very important item on their floor board, or become enamored by the passing cars.
I knew making eye contact with him would be detrimental to my pocket book but, “oh shoot, I looked at him!” Through my tightly sealed car window I shook my head at him to let him know that I didn’t
have any money but it was too late I looked at him. I remembered I still had $2 left in my wallet from lunch yesterday but I was planning on using that for coffee when got into the office. But, it was too late for coffee now, I knew I had no choice, I looked at him, why did I look at him! I yanked my bag open, shoved my hand down deep and pulled my wallet out as if I was playing tug of war (in case you were wondering, yes I have a man bag and yes you can call it a purse if it makes you feel better.) I dropped my window slightly and gave him my money as if I had been robbed at guilt point.
When the light turned green and I drove away I began to feel horrible with my attitude towards him and God used the next few moments of my drive into the office to let me know he agreed.
I think it’s safe to say that we have all experienced this same inner struggle at one point in time. I began dealing with some questions this morning like, why was it so hard for me to give to him? Is this how Jesus treated people that presented their need to Him? Was there any limit to Jesus’ desire to meet the needs of others? Then I began thinking about the story of the rich young ruler in Mark 10.
This young man, who basically was raised to be good a little Christian, asked Jesus how he could receive eternal life. Jesus responded to this young man just as I believe he responded to me this morning and ultimately wants to respond to all who call on His name. “Jesus felt genuine love for this man as he looked at him. “You lack only one thing,” he told him. “Go and sell all you have and give money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Place this request in today’s culture and how could we ever live up to God’s standard? Well, it’s easier said than done but we can live like everything we possess is not our own but God’s. Remember all that we have is because God chooses to bless us. We should look for opportunities to give our possessions away on a regular basis because that is the lifestyle that Christ calls us to live and as we give we draw closer to our Savior.
Now, look at what Jesus said in the last part of verse 21 “and you will have treasure in heaven.” Where is your treasure? This morning my actions showed that my treasure isn’t in heaven but in my man purse. However, that isn’t where I want my treasure and that definitely isn’t where God wants our treasure. Why? Because he said in Matthew 6:21 “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I don’t want my heart stuck here on earth but I want to push my heart into heaven where it belongs. With Jesus!
As we give of our possessions there is so much more going on! That act of giving is allowing us to draw closer to Jesus and give Him more room within our hearts. That act of giving is building for us treasures in heaven and making us more like Christ. So as you give your coins and dollar bills away to others remember you are ultimately allowing God to change your heart!
“Jesus felt genuine love for this man as he looked at him. “You lack only one thing,” he told him. “Go and sell all you have and give money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Mark 10:21 {NLT}
This morning as I made my way from the highway off ramp and came to rest at an intersection; I caught a glimpse of him. His eyes were puffy and red probably from a lack of sleep; his clothes were wrinkled, dirty, and stained with sweat. His boot laces were trailing behind him as he walked in between the cars rubbing his stomach and cupping his hand as to gesture he was hungry and needed money. For the most part his gestures went unnoticed from the small audience of drivers that have all seemed to have found their favorite song on the radio, dropped a very important item on their floor board, or become enamored by the passing cars.
I knew making eye contact with him would be detrimental to my pocket book but, “oh shoot, I looked at him!” Through my tightly sealed car window I shook my head at him to let him know that I didn’t
have any money but it was too late I looked at him. I remembered I still had $2 left in my wallet from lunch yesterday but I was planning on using that for coffee when got into the office. But, it was too late for coffee now, I knew I had no choice, I looked at him, why did I look at him! I yanked my bag open, shoved my hand down deep and pulled my wallet out as if I was playing tug of war (in case you were wondering, yes I have a man bag and yes you can call it a purse if it makes you feel better.) I dropped my window slightly and gave him my money as if I had been robbed at guilt point.When the light turned green and I drove away I began to feel horrible with my attitude towards him and God used the next few moments of my drive into the office to let me know he agreed.
I think it’s safe to say that we have all experienced this same inner struggle at one point in time. I began dealing with some questions this morning like, why was it so hard for me to give to him? Is this how Jesus treated people that presented their need to Him? Was there any limit to Jesus’ desire to meet the needs of others? Then I began thinking about the story of the rich young ruler in Mark 10.
This young man, who basically was raised to be good a little Christian, asked Jesus how he could receive eternal life. Jesus responded to this young man just as I believe he responded to me this morning and ultimately wants to respond to all who call on His name. “Jesus felt genuine love for this man as he looked at him. “You lack only one thing,” he told him. “Go and sell all you have and give money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Place this request in today’s culture and how could we ever live up to God’s standard? Well, it’s easier said than done but we can live like everything we possess is not our own but God’s. Remember all that we have is because God chooses to bless us. We should look for opportunities to give our possessions away on a regular basis because that is the lifestyle that Christ calls us to live and as we give we draw closer to our Savior.
Now, look at what Jesus said in the last part of verse 21 “and you will have treasure in heaven.” Where is your treasure? This morning my actions showed that my treasure isn’t in heaven but in my man purse. However, that isn’t where I want my treasure and that definitely isn’t where God wants our treasure. Why? Because he said in Matthew 6:21 “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I don’t want my heart stuck here on earth but I want to push my heart into heaven where it belongs. With Jesus!
As we give of our possessions there is so much more going on! That act of giving is allowing us to draw closer to Jesus and give Him more room within our hearts. That act of giving is building for us treasures in heaven and making us more like Christ. So as you give your coins and dollar bills away to others remember you are ultimately allowing God to change your heart!
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