Downsizing for Jesus

It's been quite a while since I posted here. Life has gotten pretty busy. I enjoyed a great two week visit back to England, catching up with friends and continuing my quest of visiting every cathedral in England. (As a side note, I have to comment on how friendly English people were the farther north I got. Although, since I couldn't understand their accents, they may have been insulting me with a smile!) But the main reason that I have slacked off lately has been a move to a new house. It is our second move in six months, third in three years. While it is nice to finally be settled for a while (we hope), the act of moving has been a chore.

Being empty nesters, my husband and I had thought that we would be downsizing. That, combined with an international move, led us to be ruthless in our purge of things over the last few years. We had to constantly ask ourselves, "Why am I hanging on to this? What purpose is this serving in my life?" Which brings me smack up against today's Scripture lesson from Mark 10.

It's the story of the young man who wants to inherit eternal life. This guy is a good Jew - he's done everything right, followed all the rules. And we, the readers, know what Jesus is going to tell him. But...today, I noticed a new detail, "Jesus looked at him and loved him." (Mark 10: 21a) And what happened when Jesus "looked" at him? He saw this young man. He saw what was important to him. He saw what made him happy, what he was ashamed of. Jesus saw who this young man really was. And he loved him. And Jesus knew what he had to do, "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

I think, as a relatively affluent Westerner, this is one of the hardest verses to understand, much less embrace. I don't want to sell and give up all that I own. I've already pared down. I'm already minimalist. And the stuff I've saved - I really like, or need. I'm already living by the William Morris rule ("If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.")

But after reading and re-reading today's Scripture, I've gained a different perspective. Jesus loved him. Jesus knew him. And Jesus knows all of us. Jesus saw what was standing between this young man and total commitment - his wealth. But maybe that's not what my problem is? Maybe what's standing between me and God is my pride, or my laziness, or my stubborn self-sufficiency. Or something else. Maybe I don't know what is standing in my way of total commitment, but Jesus knows. Let's be honest - it may be my wealth.

Jesus looks at us and loves us. Jesus wants us to follow him but he knows that we all have something standing in our way. We are all "rich" in some way and maybe, instead, we need to be "poor," because the rich don't need anything. I need to discover my poverty, my need that will lead me to give up the old junk that I'm clinging to. After all, only the desperate look for a lifeline. Am I desperate for eternal life? Am I desperate to follow Jesus with my whole life? Am I desperate enough to jettison my "junk" and never look back? 

Holy God, I want to follow you today. Help me discover what is standing in my way and, as I clean out my house, help me clean out my life so that I can fully and completely commit to your Way. Amen. 





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