By Debora Coty
Something caught my eye the other day while I was enjoying a little He & Me time with Papa God.
I was reading the story of the rich, young ruler in Mark 10:21 and noticed something not included in the other two gospels that contain this account of the well-to-do young man who did all the right things – kept the ten commandments, loved his neighbors, probably even flossed daily.
When this “good” fella (by the world’s standards) asked Jesus what else he should do to earn eternal life, Jesus shocked the Armani sandals right off his feet by asking him to do something completely unexpected.
“Sell all you possess, and give it to the poor …”
Say WHAT? Nuh-uh.
You can just picture the rich guy’s face falling. He was expecting to hear something like, “Go to church six times a day to show your incredible devotion to me.” Or even the ultimate in self-sacrifice, “Take over permanent 2-year-old nursery duty at the temple.”
But here’s the real shocker: “And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him …” (verse 21a)
Wow. Marinate on that a minute.
Jesus LOVED this guy, but still asked him to do something hard. Really hard. Something that, in the guy’s way of thinking, was downright impossible. He was probably majorly attached to that red convertible.
The litmus test for loyalty often starts with our wallets.
Sadly, he failed the test. When it was all or nothing, he chose all.
But back to my point: Could it be that Jesus does the same for us – loves us to pieces but still asks us to do something really, really hard?
I think Mother Teresa, wilting away, serving in the festering, disease-ridden slums of India would have known the answer to that.
And Corrie ten Boom, who barely survived a Nazi concentration camp because she chose the hard way of showing Papa’s forbidden love in hiding Jews.
Or Katie Davis Majors, the American teen who went w-a-y out of her way to do things the hard way by choosing to live in Uganda and adopt 13 daughters in order to share Papa God’s love firsthand to those living in poverty.
So. Who are we missing?
Ah, yes. You. And me.
What hard thing might our loving Savior ask of us this very day?
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Debora M. Coty is an inspirational speaker and award-winning author of over 100 articles and 13 books, including Fear, Faith, and a Fistful of Chocolate, More Beauty, Less Beast, and Too Blessed to Be Stressed. Debora also teaches writing workshops. Visit www.DeboraCoty.com
