Mark 10:17–31 (NKJV)

Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”

And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”

Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?”

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.”

So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Poetry

“Advent”
by Suzanne Underwood Rhodes

Through the needle’s eye
the rich man came
squeezing through stars
of razor light
that pared his body down to thread.
Gravity crushed his heart’s chime
and his breath that breathed out worlds
now flattened as fire between walls.
The impossible slit stripped him,
admitting him
to stitch the human breach.

Christ's Teaching on Wealth

Some time ago, while preaching on today’s Scripture, an elder at my church answered a question that had long bothered me. “I don’t think that Jesus’ command to the rich young man applies to everyone,” he said. “God’s claim on each person’s life is total, but not everyone is necessarily asked to sell all they have to follow him.” I was relieved. “But, if you’re relieved to hear that,” he continued, “you might be the very person he is asking it of.”

Ah.

I’m attached to my possessions. I like having a clean place to live, food security, and savings. I rely on convenient transportation, fashionable clothes, ready entertainment, and treats when I’m sad. The comfort of middle-class American life woos me.

God is not against us having money or stability: he frequently commands his people to provide for the poor and steward their wealth well. Wearing nice clothes or going out for a fancy coffee can glorify God.

However, sometimes what he asks of us does go against human wisdom. Following him often costs more than we want to give.

If you walk long enough with God, you will be given the painful grace of being “pared down” in some manner, revealing what is truly in your heart. If God asked me to choose generosity over convenience, status symbols, or pleasure, would I obey? If he asked me to let go of a dream, would I follow? If I had to leave behind a relationship that offered me security, would I go? If he offered weakness and grace instead of my self-powered religiosity, would I accept it?

The poverty Jesus offered the rich man was a gift. Mark offers an unexpected note midway through the scene—Jesus looked at the young man, and loved him. Then, only after this moment of love, he offered: Here is the thing you’re missing. This was a gift of seeing reality. I want you to be filled! But to be filled you need to know that the things you have are empty.

Maybe, like me, you find the young man’s demeanor in today’s painting relatable. The man is paralyzed, wishing to do what he ought, but perhaps already knowing what he will choose. He is grappling with the cost, seeking any other solution, fighting to let go of what his heart so tightly clutches. And he doesn’t. He can’t. He goes away, deeply grieved.

How is it possible for the rich man to enter the kingdom of God?

“With men it is impossible,” but “with God all things are possible,” Jesus answers (v. 27). Suzanne Underwood Rhodes’ poem “Advent” elucidates this solution. Jesus himself is the rich man who became poor, threaded through the needle to sew up our wounds. Because he took on human form, emptying himself to bear our sins in the flesh, we are able to enter the kingdom of God (Philippians 2:5-11).

I encourage you to consider: would I give up the things that make me feel safe and comfortable, believing there is a truer, better safety and comfort? What does my attitude towards my possessions tell me about my trust?

If accepting Christ’s call feels impossible, start here: ask the God who makes all things possible for the faith to see him as more beautiful than anything in this world. If we are emptied for him, we will be filled with eternal life.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, who looks on me with love, 
One thing I ask from you,
      this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
      all the days of my life,
to gaze on your beauty
      and to seek you in your temple.
Give me only faith enough to be emptied,
So that I may be by your life filled.

—Adapted from Psalm 27:4

Grace Ducker
Alumna, Biola University & Torrey Honors College
Administrative Coordinator, Office of the President
Biola University


For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab near the top of the page.