“One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you
have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven” (Mark
10:21).
Through much of my Christian life, I read this as Christ
asking the rich young man to surrender what was most precious to him. In this
light it provides a good illustration to the first commandment: You shall
have no other gods before me (Exodus
20:3). Whatever we put first is our god. This man’s god was his wealth.
But lately I’ve been reading this with a different focus. It
wasn’t that the man had something Jesus wanted to take, but that he
lacked something Jesus wanted to give. One thing you lack…
Jesus was saying, You’re missing something. Go sell
everything you have; give your wealth to the poor, and you’ll receive something
of far greater value. This was
no consolation prize. What Jesus said was, Let me give you a treasure. But what the rich man heard was, Give
me your treasure. And, He went away sad, because he had great wealth (v. 22).
Our tendency is to focus on the cost rather than the
benefit. Why is it when Jesus wants to give us something, all we see is the
price?
There is a difference, whether we can see it or not. You can
have wealth, or you can have treasure. Your pick. You choose.
When Jesus offers treasure, will you settle for trinkets?
TODAY’S MEDITATION
What are you gripping so
tightly that you cannot open your hand to receive treasure from God?
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