Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Jesus, You Can't be Serious


There's a commandment in the New Testament that has been the source of many discussions at our house. It's downright agitatin'.

"Sell everything you have and give to the poor then come...follow Me." (Luke 18:22)

The rich, young ruler was asking Jesus how to be a disciple. That was his answer. Simple.

I've heard friends and scholars say, "He only mentions it a couple of times and that answer applies to that specific man."


THEN WHY IS IT IN THE BIBLE?  

"You guys are all into that born-again thing, and that’s awesome; we've got to be born again. You know Jesus said that to Nicodemus. But if you tell me that I got to be born again, I can tell you that you've got to sell everything you have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to one guy, too. But I guess that’s why God invented highlighters, so we can we highlight the verses that we like and ignore the other ones."-Rich Mullins


Today, over 50% of the world lives on less than $2 a day. To say that I'm not rich is a lie. I'm rich, filthy rich. Sell everything you have and give to the poor...

5 comments:

Caytie said...

The Lord has opened our eyes in the last few years to what absolutely breaks his heart and should break ours. Sadly, I haven't always felt the gut wrenching pain that I do now. One that keeps me up at nights.
I am excited for you and your husband and all that you will discover in a country that so desperately needs Jesus and needs people to love them as we are called to. You will undoubtedly be blessed by them and the joy that they have in having nothing this world holds dear but having everything in Jesus will be awing.

I will pray for you as you go and I know that as a mom your heart will be torn between leaving your kiddos behind but that God will give you peace knowing that they are cared for.

We recently read Crazy Love and our hearts are being stirred again to make more dramatic changes in our lives and I am excited to see where God leads us in this journey of walking with Him.

1st stop is our adoption but that's just the beginning!

Proverbs 24:12
If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?" does not he who guards your life know it?" Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?"

christina said...

Wow, Cayte, thanks for sharing! I'm glad to know we are not alone in this. How exciting that you are taking action and living out your new conviction. I think these are exciting and powerful times we are experiencing.

Matt Yount said...

That is a GREAT quote from Rich Mullins. I've never heard that before. Thanks for sharing.

christina said...

Yep. I love Rich Mullins. Kevin said he remembered that at a youth retreat you got to be their chauffeur?

annie said...

In reality, I don't think we can sell everything and give the poor, but I agree with you, we are rich in terms of material; but it will be more bless if we are rich in our heart.