2021 blog series: exploring the stories of men and women in the New Testament
(#4): THE RICH YOUNG RULER
I want to believe there is more to this story than Scripture records. That this young man’s journey didn’t truly end when he walked away from JESUS. Sad. Unwilling to let go of all he held so dearly.
How tragic if he was unable to grasp with both hands the glorious alternative JESUS offered him – the Person of Christ Himself and every wonderful thing that comes with Him: everlasting life, an exhaustless store of resources, and an eternal Home.
My heart goes out to this young man. He asked a good question. He asked the right Person. He just didn’t seem prepared to receive the right answer.
Scripture tells us JESUS loved him. The Savior put His day on hold to talk to him, to encourage him, and then to point him to the one decision that would never fail him – complete, wholehearted trust in JESUS alone.
I want to believe this man went away and thought about it all for a while and came back, drawn by the love of the Savior, ready to let go of everything else and simply follow JESUS!
We won’t know this side of heaven what that man eventually decided to do. But I can ask myself the hard questions . . .
Is there anything or anyone other than JESUS in whom I trust? Is there anything I hold too dearly to loosen my grasp and let go, if that is what He directs?
My mind wanders to the uncertain times we are living. I like routine. Predictability. Responsible choices within our own control that lead to a reasonable sense of security for our family. A normal work and school schedule. A regular paycheck. Times our little family can sit together around the dinner table to check in, to challenge and encourage one another with GOD’s truth.
Right now, decisions and plans for much of the above are out of our hands. Uncertainty hovers close like a heavy cloud. As our daughter attends college a few hours away and questions loom about our son’s last year of high school or my husband’s job, I run the risk of my own “fix-it” wheels turning.
His whisper is gentle but persistent. “Just trust Me.” Period. End of story. Without reservation.
No “what if?” or “what about this?” He asks me to remember Whose we are and Whom we serve. To remember His best is always best, even when He answers in ways I am not always ready to receive. I need to let go of my own ideas, my own false sense of security. And rest in Him alone. The eternally unchanging and faithful One who stands ready to lead me forward.
May I respond to His tender love and steady guidance and simply follow JESUS – with my whole heart.
Read more here: Mark 10:17-31, Luke 12:16-21, Ecclesiastes 5:8-20
the cover of His Presence 