March 2: Radical Lifestyle: What Does God See In Your Eyes?
♫ Music:
Monday, March 2
Scripture: Mark 10:17-22
And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
RADICAL LIFESTYLE: WHAT DOES GOD SEE IN YOUR EYES?
This passage challenges us. Much like the rich young ruler who is found running up to Christ, desperate to know the wisdom and direction of the Lord, I too want to know the Father’s heart in matters of eternal significance.
My friends, do you hear the message here? This is a picture of you and me running to the Savior, out of breath and panting, afraid of missing the opportunity, kneeling before the Lord saying “what must I do and what is it you desire of me Lord?” I hope you see that Christ is talking to you and me as He speaks to this young man. Why, because you and I are the rich young ruler! In this world where less than 1% of the world’s population earns $47,000 or more, only 4% own a home, and 7% a car; and even more profoundly, that nearly 30,000 children die every day from poverty, we are a culture and a people, though undeserving, who are amazingly resourced. And we, just like this man, are in need of some serious consideration of what may be keeping us from Him.
Christ’s first list of what is needed from this man is no real surprise. It is taken from Exodus 20, a portion of the 10 Commandments already laid down in the Law. It is interesting that several commandments were omitted and it has been speculated that perhaps these were some that Christ may have known the man had not been keeping. Knowing the rich young ruler would respond to the list that He gave, Christ does something very special. Scripture tells us that Jesus gazes at the man and feels a love for him. Christ looks straight at the young man—eye to eye!
Shakespeare references the eye as a window to the soul. I think he’s right. And, there are numerous scriptures that reference the eye and its power to bring light to the body and reflect the soul. I think that happened here. When Christ looked into the eyes of the rich young ruler, he knew the one thing that would keep him from inheriting eternal life. This one sacrifice was the thing that would bring him treasure, but the young man considered the sacrifice too great! It was to sell all he had, give it to the poor, and follow Christ.
So, does Christ always require us to sell everything we have and give it to the poor? I don’t think so. But, I do think it was the one thing Christ saw in this man’s eyes that would keep him from an eternal inheritance.
What does God see in your eyes today? What is it that you cling so tightly to that you just can’t let go? Today is the day to let go, to gain treasure in heaven, and to follow Him!
PRAYER
My prayer today Lord is for Your eyes to search me, know my heart, and open my eyes to the things that matter to You. Father, make clear to me those areas of my life where I hold the tightest grip, and move me to be willing to sacrifice all for the Kingdom of God. In the powerful name of King Jesus I pray, Amen.
Rick Bee, Senior Director, Alumni & Parent Relations
Christ and the Rich Young Ruler
Heinrich Hofmann
1889
Riverside Church, New York
Oil on canvas
About the Artist & Art
German painter Heinrich Hoffman (1824 – 1911) grew up in a family of artists. He studied at the Academy of Art in Düsseldorf, and afterwards travelled to the Netherlands, France, and Italy to continue his studies. He painted mostly portraits at the beginning of his career, but after his mother's death in 1853 Hoffman was inspired to complete the first of his large religious works. These religious paintings would become the focus of his art in later years, and he completed altarpieces for numerous churches in Germany and Denmark. Three of Hoffman's paintings, including Christ and the Rich Young Ruler, were purchased by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and are now on display in the Riverside Church in New York City.
About the Music
If I Gain the World lyrics
If I gain the world, but not the savior,
Were my life worth living for a day?
Could my yearning heart find rest and comfort
In the things that soon must pass away?
If I gain the world, but not the savior,
Would my gain be worth the life long strife?
Are all earthy pleasures worth comparing
For a moment with the Christ-filled life?
Had I wealth and love in fullest measure,
And a name referred both far and near
Yet no hope beyond, no harbor waiting,
Where my storm-tossed vessel I could steer.
If I gain the world, but not the savior,
Who endured that cross and died for me
Could then all the world afford a refuge
Whither in my anguish I might flee?
Oh what emptiness without my savior,
Met the sins and sorrows here below?
And eternity, oh dark without him,
Only night and tears and endless woe.
What though I might live without the savior,
When I come to die, how would it be?
Oh to face the valley's gloom without him,
And without him, eternity.
Oh the joy of having all in Jesus,
What a balm the broken heart to heal,
Never a sin so great he'll not forgive it
Nor sorrow that he does not feel.
If I have my Jesus, only Jesus,
Nothing in all this world beside
Oh then everything is mine in Jesus,
For my needs and more he will provide.
For your needs and more he will provide!
About the Musician & Composer
Linda Coetzee has been singing her whole life. She was born in South Africa, where she has sung in a number of choirs at the college and professional level and taught music to high schoolers. She now lives in Cape Town, where she regularly performs, writes, and records gospel music both on her own and with the group Voices for Christ.
http://www.lindacoetzee.com/
Anna Olander was a Swedish author who produced stories, poetry and hymns. Her writings often shared the revival and consecration themes of hymn writer Frances Havergal, whose songs Anna Olander translated into Swedish. If I Gained the World first appeared in 1900 as a poem in Olander’s book Pilgrim Songs. In 1904 it was included in the English hymnal Mission Hymns, with the title True Riches.