Consider for a moment the encounter in Mark 10:17-22 between Jesus and a rich man. Mark says the man in question ran up to Jesus and “…knelt before Him, and asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mk. 10:17). When Jesus pointed him to the words of God’s law as articulated in the ten commandments, the man replied, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up” (Mk. 10:20). As a quick aside, let’s not misunderstand Jesus at this point. He did not teach salvation by law keeping. Rather, our Lord pointed to the Law of Moses because the law reveals sin and corruption at the core of every human heart, the very thing this man needed to understand about himself. In response to the man’s rejoinder, Jesus said, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Mk. 10:21b). At this, the man departed “…grieving, for he was one who owned much property” (Mk. 10:22b).
Now, while the context of this moment, the immediate issue at hand, pertains to wealth, the principle at work runs much deeper. The principle is this: Jesus will graciously target that which is most precious to me outside of himself. Discipleship after Christ will “go after” that in which I find my identity and worth outside of Jesus, no matter what it is. God is gracious to knock down, decapitate, and make impotent my idols (see 1 Samuel 5:1-5)! God destroys the idols of his people not merely in wrath, but more fundamentally in love. Before Jesus went after this man’s idol of wealth, what does Mark tell us? Read the first part of verse 21, right before Jesus spoke to the man about his property: “Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him…” Jesus loved this man, and because he loved him, our Lord would not allow the man’s idols to stand.
“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mk. 8:34b-37).
When we find our idols lying headless and handless on the floor of life, let’s take a moment to stop and praise the Lord. Let’s thank him for his love…
Note: The above Scripture quotations come from the New American Standard Bible (Grand Rapids: Lockman, 1995).
Fix Your Mind 