Losing Everything to Gain Everything

As long as I can remember, the most important thing in the lives of some people I have known, in the secular world, was to get as much and as fast as they could. It is all about the material possessions and the fattest paycheck. Because if you have a fat paycheck, you can continue to add to the material possessions. Never would any of them consider losing everything to gain everything; that just doesn't make any sense in the world of selfishness and greed.

I am not opposed to having the things we need to get by or those things which can make our lives a little easier. It's always nice to have a vehicle which will get us to where we need to go without the worry or concern of a breakdown. I've been there, years ago, and I know what that is like. I know what it is like to be concerned about heat in the home or enough food until the next paycheck. So, I'm not saying we shouldn't have what provides for our needs and a little comfort. What I'm referring to are the items which will distract us from Jesus.

I am reminded of the passage in Mark of the Rich Young Ruler and how he could not part with his riches to follow Jesus.

 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good.  But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’”

“Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” 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.” At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. MK 10:17-22

The young man couldn't separate himself from his riches in order to follow Jesus. This passage does not tell us it is impossible for the wealthy to be saved or to follow Christ. It is simply an example of how worldly possessions can keep us from following Jesus. A few verses later, Jesus explains to his disciples how difficult it is for a rich person to be saved and informs them that salvation by man's ways are impossible but with God everything is possible. Maybe a better way of understanding what is said here is that if the rich man can't be saved, nobody can be saved. Riches cannot buy salvation and men cannot save themselves by riches or any other way.

So, it is not the possession of things or stuff which will keep us from following Jesus but it is when we place them ahead of Jesus. It is at this point they become idols since anything which takes the place of God is an idol. Therefore, if we are more interested in our stuff than we are interested in God, the stuff has become an idol. The rich young ruler had a lot of stuff and he just couldn't part with it to follow Jesus.

Wealth and riches are not the only things which can stand in our way in regard to worshipping the Lord. It can be a career or job, another person, a hobby or activity or our stuff. We are easily sidetracked by the things of this world and those things can sidetrack our devotion to the Lord. I understand that people have to work on Sunday mornings to keep their jobs. I was there at one time and I hated it but in order to keep my job, I went to work. But what about those times when overtime is an option on Sunday? What comes first, the extra money or God? You don't really need the extra money but if you had it, it would allow you to buy some more stuff.

These are decisions we need to make and the sin nature we were born with will temp us into making the wrong decision if we allow it to. Trust in the Lord and, not worldly riches, will provide so much more. When we put God first in our lives, first in everything, He honors that in our lives. He provides for us and takes care of us.  The following passage follows the account of the rich young ruler,

Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said. “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News,  will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.  But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.”  MK 10:28-31

I have talked with a man who had given up a mid six figure salary to serve Jesus as a minister to those living in poverty. He provided them with bags of food and the gospel and he has never regretted leaving his previous lifestyle. Jesus will always be there to provide for us; He does not call us to be saved or to go into a ministry and leave us hanging. For some, it might be more difficult to let go of the stuff and others not so hard. And yet, for others, God may take it all away just to get the individual's attention.

Years ago, I had a dear friend, John, who, initially, I had known in passing. I first met him at a denominational church I was attending. He worked across the street from me at a National Guard unit. I worked for a defense contractor at the time and would occasionally be at that Guard unit and see him. At work, he was a very loud and boisterous type individual and, if I had not seen him in church, would not have been able to tell he was a Christian.

Eventually, I moved my family on to another church, which led to my first position in ministry, and I lost track of John. The next time I saw him, he was working for the same defense contractor I was. I had lunch with him one day and he began to tell me his story. I knew right away, before he began his story, this was not the same man I had known before. He had lost his wife, she left him, and his family fell apart and he had lost his job at the Guard unit. He had also owned a business in town which had begun to experience a loss of business and he was forced to close it.

I'm not going to go into all the details of how this man's life fell apart around him, but he had lost everything. It was at his lowest point, he found himself sitting on a bench downtown when a friend came by and sat down next to him. This friend knew what John had been going through and he also was a Christian who had his own business. I don't recall the words he spoke to John but they got John's attention. He had been out of fellowship and church and had been drenching himself in self pity but when this man was finished speaking to John, he knew what he had to do.

John found a another church to attend and he was a new man; that conversation had lit a fire from the spark which remained in his heart. As he sat there and told me this story, I could sense the excitement he had for Jesus, the love he had for Jesus and the thanks he had for Jesus allowing him to be shaken, rattled and brought back into fellowship with Him. John had, at one time, placed everything in his home life, business life and all of his possessions ahead of Jesus, his Lord. As I listened to John speak, I realized this was a different man than the one I had known before. He was humble and kind and spoke softly. This was not that loud and boisterous man I had witnessed at his previous job.

John had lost everything and in return, he had gained everything. All that stuff he had in his life before, he realized was meaningless. God had stripped John of all his stuff in order for him to be able to see what was really important. And, I so enjoyed spending time with the second John I knew. There were many occasions we had lunch together and I knew without a doubt Jesus had changed this man's life from a 'I'll put God on the back burner' type of Christian to a 'Jesus is the most important thing in my life' type of Christian.

I have known a few John type people in my Christian life; some, like John, were able to allow Jesus to reach into their lives and clean house. If we insist on placing the stuff in our lives ahead of God, He will begin a house cleaning and that process is not always a pleasant one. Realize now who Jesus is in your life. Realize now where Jesus' place in your life needs to be. We don't have to go through the process of losing everything to gain everything. We already have Jesus, put Him where He belongs in your life, at the front of the line and before everything and everyone.