March 21, 2021 (Sunday)
The blog for today is following Jesus east of the Jordan river as He makes His way toward Jerusalem on His final journey. A rich young ruler came to him, asking him what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus suggested he keep the commandments, and the man replied that he had done that all his life. Jesus looked straight at him with love and said, “You need only one thing. Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me”. When the man heard this, gloom spread over his face, and he went away sad, because he was very rich (Mark 10:17-31).
Mark says Jesus looked at the young man with love. He saw great potential in him. He had a desire for eternal life. He had built his life upon a firm foundation of obedience to God, but he was not willing to give up his possessions and power to follow Jesus. Jesus knew those things would be a stumbling block for him if he tried to become a follower. He needed to cut the ties that bound him to this world. Not everyone with power and riches needs to give all that up. Plenty of people with money and power humbly serve the Lord Jesus today, but there was something about this man that caused Jesus to lay down the condition of giving up his worldly possessions and status. He walked away from Jesus, and Jesus watched him do that without objection.
Then Jesus turned to his disciples and explained that worldly riches can hinder people in their service to God.
Some people today who have amassed fortunes are in the process of giving their money away to organizations that can help people. Those of us with much less money need to be good stewards of what we have, never forgetting the poor that Jesus said would always be with us. Our job as Christians is not to judge them, but to help them if we can.
ALL THINGS IN JESUS
Words: Harry Dixon Loes
Music: Harry Dixon Loes
Date: 1915
Sung by George Beverly Shea
1 Friends all around us are trying to find
What the heart yearns for, by sin undermined;
I have the secret, I know where ’tis found:
Only in Jesus true pleasures abound.
Chorus:
All that I want is in Jesus;
He satisfies, joy He supplies;
Life would be worthless without Him,
All things in Jesus I find.
2 Some carry burdens whose weight has for years
Crushed them with sorrow and blinded with tears;
Yet One stands ready to help them just now,
If they with faith and in penitence bow. (Chorus)
3 No other name thrills the joy chords within,
And thro’ none else is remission of sin;
He knows the pain of the heart sorely tried,
All of its needs will in Him be supplied. (Chorus)
4 Jesus is all this poor world needs today;
Blindly men strive, for sin darkens the way.
O to draw back the grim curtains of night–
One glimpse of Jesus, and all will be bright. (Chorus)