the rich young nation...

this past friday i had the privilege of leading bible study for our south bay home group... it was a blessed time in which we had fellowship and community building time through the Word.  one of the sections of scripture we went over was through mark 10:17-31 in which Jesus speaks to the rich young ruler...

i couldn't help but think though that in understanding the rich young ruler, i was looking into the eyes of almost every north american Christian who has grown up in church... indeed we are a rich young nation of sorts. 

look at the ruler... he was rich (probably inherited), being rich he was probably seen as very blessed from God (hence the abhor of the disciples at Jesus statement in mark 10:23), and he was probably very well liked... in many respects he was a prime candidate for the kingdom of God... because he grew up in the church, knew of the bible, and was probably like your sunday worship leader... very spiritual in every sense of the word.

but he was also blinded by his own circumstances... he didn't realize who he was talking to... he didn't realize what he was asking for... and he didn't realize what he missed out on...

i mean... he called Jesus "good teacher" (mark 10:17).  this was a title of recognition in very sense.  he had probably heard of Jesus and was sincerely looking for answers to his spiritual query.  yet, Jesus throws the question right back at him... "why do you call me "good"..." (mark 10:18).  commentators are right when they recognize that the man was being questioned by Jesus' response, "you SAY you know me... but do you really know me?"  and he didn't... just look at the man's response calling him "teacher" dropping the "good" (mark 10:20)

he didn't know what he was asking for either because his question was really self defeating... "what must i do to inherit eternal life?" (mark 10:17)  but do you "do" to inherit something?  the answer is no... inheritance is given, passed down, not earned by any measure!!!  so already his question was wrong... because he didn't understand what he was really asking for.

he also didn't know what he was asking for because the riches of this world he had plenty of, but what does eternal life have to do with that (or what does he seem to think about eternal life when he asks that)?  he thought he had himself a clear conscience (not unlike other christians in this world) because he was a good jew.  he "obeyed" the commandments... taht is, those commandments that were action oriented.

but Jesus didn't let him go... rather he "loved him".  as commentators have said, Jesus probably saw someone he wanted to believe, but was hindered by something... that's why we note that Jesus left out one of the commandments in his first exchange with the man... coveting. 

coveting is a commandment against the heart... the mind... it is something you can't stop doing physically... this man may have "lived" a life with a clear conscience, but in truth his filth was masked by his earthly inheritance.  because he loved his earthly inheritance, it blinded him of his need for Christ.  much like many asian americans who grow up in a "shame based" culture, when they do good they are pat on the head and affirmed for their work ethic.  never are we questioned about our hearts in coveting so long as we continue to "work" hard in this world to attain our own earthly inheritance.  such is this rich man.

furthermore he didn't understand the value of the heavenly inheritance he was asking about...

when we see the man's response of walking away (mark 10:22) we can note that he was probably confused.  as pastor james lee  (click the link for the sermon) notes about Jesus' response it would seem as if Jesus was asking the man to "sin".  in the OT the land blessing was the inheritance given to man by God.  all the tribes had land... except the levites.  so to sell your possessions is to forfeit that jubilee celebration when it will be returned... it is to forfeit your heritage... it is to forfeit your very being and blessing in this world that God has given you.  it is to ultimately forsake who you are and your forefathers.

but Jesus is quick to follow up with the impossibility of entering God's kingdom for the purpose of affirming the need to abandon this world... the camel indeed was probably the biggest land animal around and the needle is the smallest opening you can probably conceive of on land... for us to have possessions in our hearts outside of Christ we cannot go to heaven.  thus we can understand the disciples' consternation... if God's blessed cannot enter God's kingdom who can? 

this is why the inheritance is "received" from God though... note, mark 10:27 tells us that only God can make the impossible possible.  it is only through faith that we can enter through the eye of the needle (thanks ps. daniel for that line... very good.) 

often in the church we view people on merits... we compare... we cling on to things naturally in the world because we live in it... it kind of reminds me of a scene in "when harry met sally" when this newly married couple is moving in together and the husband is clinging onto his old hideous wagon wheel coffee table.  his wife, whom he loves, is saying NO... we gotta get rid of this thing... but he insists on keeping it.

like that couple, when we marry into the body of Christ we still want to "enjoy" the things of this world.  we hold on to the old because we have such history with it.  it has inherent value for us... but brothers and sisters... shouldn't the inherent value of Christ completely outweigh the value of our world?

this is why Jesus tells us that we will be rewarded "hundredfold" now and in eternity... for NOW we have the Holy Spirit of our Lord dwelling with us... and we WILL have the presence of Christ with us for eternity.  our true inheritance is in Him, and we ought to live as such... we should not be fettered to the past, to our emotions, to our friends, to our families, or anything else... all that matters is Christ. 

now i am not saying to forsake these relationships, but for the sake of Christ we ought to be willing to.  for if Christ is truly that pearl in the field, then we ought to follow in his footsteps to forsake earthly glory for the heavenly one.  we ought to be the merchant as he was for us... selling everything for that pearl. 

yet there is a warning too against being haughty about it.  "the last shall be first and the first shall be last." (mark 10:31)  we know not HOW we will be honored nor to the extent we will be honored in heaven... but it is good enough to continue to learn to receive the kingdom... and live accordingly to that blessing and inheritance... for we are like the levites today... as the Lord is our inheritance.

re-visitation...

sometimes meeting with God's people is fun... other times... terrible.  the family of God has its share of hurts, disappointments, and rejections... it's a place where people cry together, spout hypocrisy through their mouths and lives, yet it's also a place of redemption.  it's the kind of family that doesn't just humble us, but it reminds us of our own blood family in its heartaches.  but, it's different from our worldly families because there is salvation. 

there is no salvation outside the family of God... that includes our own blood family.  regardless of how many Christians there are it really doesn't matter.  there are merely analogies of the broken relationships that exist in this world apart from God at every turn.  and with salvation, what i speak of is not an apparent visible manifestation.

look at the statistics... divorce rates in churches are the same as those outside of church, pre-marital sex is at the same percentage within the church as outside of the church, etc... there is no sanctuary in the hallowed walls of the church... the physical walls that is.

salvation is a spiritual thing that manifests itself in concrete human terms.  it is expressed in analogy to us because our minds cannot fathom its true depths, complexities, nor can it appreciate the great truths of grace.  this is why we return to our lies and deceptions.  this is why we turn to theologies that "liberate" or "transform" the city instead of theologies that renew the city through our receiving of grace. 

there is so much in the human heart which sees "to do" and "change" as mantras for every turn.  it's a political slogan, it's a motto and clarion call to act, it's everything there is in the world... except that it's really a law which we cannot abide in.  in this way we turn to our laws again and again... and when we have no laws, we write new ones in our hearts... that's how vicious it is... our hearts never cease to disappoint because that's all it knows in this world.

this is why the otherworldliness of the gospel is the truly transformative factor in humanity.  often times we forget that it is the Word which transforms, that we receive grace because we cannot earn it ourselves, we trick ourselves with "doing" instead of doing because we've received.  it is a foreign proclamation to hear that God himself stooped so low as to take on flesh, live among the rottenness of humanity, and take on a curse so that he would bring the joy set before him to himself...

we are the pearl of great price, the joy, the goal of Christ... but do we realize this?  if so, why do we want to "transform" the world so much with our own hands?  why do we seek "good" for the general world?  is it because of OUR vision for reality, or is it because of God's vision for this world?  because if it was really God's vision then would we live in frustration at our failures?  when things go awry against our desires do we curse or be contented? 

transformation is not bad... but if we think that transformation is a goal instead of Christ then we're really fooling ourselves. 

this is one of the reasons why i like participating in mercy and visiting the people of God... because the acts of mercy and meeting with God's family are similar in that they remind me of how Christ is received by my own heart in those i help... no... i'm not talking about the joys so much as the other responses... the dastardly air of entitlement, the mere looks of those who take advantage of grace, those who would kick our Savior in the teeth if they had the chance... but they'll still take your free money.  and yet... i'm one who receives again and again... because God loves me that much.

Christ is not one to be kicked around... taken advantage of... nor is he one to shun after receiving grace... but Christians do it all the time.  that's when i remember too... he's the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, he will come down to crush the sinful, the indignant, and he will strike fear in those who do not know him...

yet for those who DO know Christ, he is not only a warrior king of peace... but he is also our brother, the reason why we're in the family of God, the one who sends the transformer (the Holy Spirit), and the precious pearl to us.  he is the goal... he is the God-man... our par example...

my hope and prayer is that the instruments of redemption in this world would remember who they really are in the hands of God... that perhaps we realize our own judgment is suspect and convicting against us... but at the same time, God's judgment for us is what we must turn to, what we must trust in, and what we must receive so that we would be transformed into his likeness... not to worry about dating, or how people in the church need to focus on purity, or the "integrity" of others... (as important as some may think about them) but rather focus on reaching out with the Word of God. 

speaking of re-visiting, i thought i'd re-post an old entry with regards to cold calling and human rejection...

follow-ups...

first off... al mohler weighs in on the article previously mentioned in my other post on Christian singles and their perspective of marriage... it's here... http://www.albertmohler.com/

second, i've discovered the value of cold calling for men... it teaches them about how women reject them.  unfortunately, you'd have to get rejected a few times before you figure out a way to try to get past that...

but here are some of the types of rejections you get when cold calling... translated to asking a girl out.

1.  they answer and put you on hold forever... this is equivalent to a girl who will say hi and then completely ignore you.  thus far... my solution is to hang up and move on to the next number.

2.  they answer and then hang up on you... this is equivalent to a girl who will just straight up say, "dude, you have no chance in hell... eff off."  in this case... trust me, you're too good for that prima donna headache.

3.  they answer and are nice to you, and then they put you through voice mail...  this is like having a girl befriend you and seem to try to be "open", but to not hurt your feelings they're hoping you figure out that they're just a dead end... very typical Christian response if i may say so myself... sometimes you can keep trying to make it work, but you might as well move on...

4.  they answer you and are nice to you.  they take another advertisement and then they'll say they'll call you if they need anything... this is like them saying they'd be willing to go out with you... and maybe they do... but really... they're just humoring you to no end considering they think they're getting a good deal with a package somewhere else... but just in case... everyone needs a back up.

5.  they answer you, take ads, and really compare prices so if they think they're getting a deal they'll go to you... this is obviously like a girl who's open to dating... but really, if something better comes along you're toast.

6.  they'll actually do business with you considering they know your value and value your business and customer service... i don't think this needs much translation... this hasn't happened yet with me... but i'm hopeful. 

ahhh... the wisdom in cold calling... what great lessons...