What Do I Need to Give Up?

I have a pretty good collection of “Live Generously” T-shirts, collected over the years from participating in different service projects at Ascension Lutheran Church. If I were to own a shirt for every project this church has led or supported, the stack would probably reach the moon and back. It is a place where the love of Jesus is strongly felt and followed, and I am so very grateful for that. This past weekend, the gospel message and sermon by Pastor Tim provided an important reminder of why living generously is so important if we are to walk in the way of Jesus. 

As my husband and I sat at dinner following the Saturday night service, my husband said, “That was a good message. I could definitely learn from that one.”  

My response was, “We can all relate. I think we all have something we rely on a little too much.” 

The passage I’m referring to is Mark 10:17-22, where we read about a man who claims he has obeyed all of the commandments since he was a child (Mark 10:20), but still wants to know what he needs to do to inherit eternal life.  

What is the response from Jesus? We read in Mark 10:21:

Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor; and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

This is a hard answer to hear, but one thing that especially strikes me is that this passage doesn’t start by telling us the words from Jesus. It reminds us first of what Jesus does. It says Jesus LOOKED at the man and LOVED him. That seems so very important. He didn’t look down at him with judging, critical eyes. He saw him fully, for who he truly was, and felt genuine love for him. Can you picture this? Can you see the eyes and face of Jesus in this moment, looking graciously and tenderly at the man in front of him who had worked so hard for so many years trying to earn the favor and salvation of God? Can you picture Jesus doing the same with you? Looking at you with sincere love when you ask him what it is you need to DO? 

A commentary by David Guzik says the man should have said, “There is no way I have kept the law of God completely. I need a savior.” 

That seems to be what we all should say. We all need Jesus. Similarly, we all need to remember that there is nothing we need to DO to earn God’s love and salvation.  The man in this week’s passage has a “works-righteousness” view. He believes he has to DO all the right things to earn salvation. He doesn’t see that the one thing that can save him is believing in the one standing before him. Jesus tells us this in John 6:29: “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” 

Which brings me to the question I’ve been pondering all week: 

What am I clinging to more than Jesus? 

In other words, where am I getting my security? Is it from the things I do? The things I have? The people in my life? My health? My bank account? My own comfort? What would Jesus tell me to let go of, to give up so I can fully follow him?

In Mark 10:22, we see the man’s response to Jesus: “At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.”

This has never been the response I hoped for in this passage. I like the times when we see people jump at Jesus’s request to follow him, where they drop everything for this chance.  (Read for example, Mark 1:16-20; John 1:35-49; Matthew 9:9-13) I wonder how different this man might have felt if he had done what Jesus asked. Would he have still felt sad? Maybe at first? But after giving up everything he owned, which Jesus knew was the most important thing to this man, would he have then felt a joy and freedom he couldn’t have imagined? 

What about me? Is Jesus asking me to give something up so I can fully follow him?

I might not want to admit it, but if I’m going to walk in the way of Jesus, I have to be truthful here and admit that there can be many things that can take my focus off Jesus. If I’m not careful, they can get in the way of completely and wholeheartedly committing to and surrendering to him. By admitting this, I can hopefully walk more closely with Jesus as I pray for his help, his guidance, his grace and mercy every day.  I can ask him, “Jesus, what am I clinging to instead of you?” and then listen for his answer, remembering that he answers in LOVE. Like he did with the man in Mark 10, he sees and knows everything about me, he LOVINGLY corrects and redirects, and he invites me to follow HIM. He does this for all of us. 

I was reminded this week that it’s difficult to follow the teaching in this week’s passage in Mark 10 without remembering the teaching from last week in Matthew 14, reminding us to believe in the truth of God’s abundance, rather than the lie of scarcity. The passage of Jesus feeding the 5,000 is one of many that demonstrates the promise of God to provide for all our needs. It also profoundly reminds us that Jesus calls us to count on his abundance to serve others. When the disciples tell Jesus he should send the crowds away to get food in the villages, Jesus says, “That isn’t necessary— you feed them.”

Similarly, when Jesus appears to the disciples on the beach after his resurrection, he asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” (John 21:15-17)  After Peter says yes, Jesus responds each time with, “Then feed my lambs,” “Then take care of my sheep,” and “Then feed my sheep.”

If we are walking in the way of Jesus, following him, we have to fully trust him for our needs and the needs of those whom we step out in faith to serve. We might need to give up something for ourselves to give something to another. In other words, we might have to pay attention to what has a hold on us, what we’re clinging to,  so we can put our full hold on Jesus. 

In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus says, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’” This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” 

This sounds strikingly similar to Jesus telling the man to give up everything to follow him. My prayer for each of us this week is that we can fully put our trust in him, that we can remember he is enough, and that he provides everything we need so we can fully give to others. 

Journaling Ideas:

• Write the question: “What am I clinging to?” Write down the things you might rely on or find security in that aren’t exactly following Jesus. Then write a prayer asking God to help you rely on him. Ask him to help you surrender any doubts and uncertainties to him, to increase your faith in his abundance and provision. (and don’t let this become a time of shaming yourself, but instead a time of letting Jesus pour his love and grace into you. He understands your struggles and doubts.)

• Write “Live Generously” at the top of a journal page. What people or groups are on your heart to serve? Pray for these and for God’s guidance in how to help in the gifting of your time, talents, or treasures.