Teachings from the rich young ruler
I happened to read a blog entry titled Poor Little Rich Young Ruler dated May 17, 2006. Mainly discussing about whether this rich young man was saved or not. (Please see Matthew 19:16-30)
haha I think that was not the main point why this conversation between the young ruler and Jesus was recorded in the Bible. But ya, sure, it is an interesting food for thought though I feel that we should not dwell too much on this matter.
I have never thought about whether he was saved or not. But when someone commented that the man "went away sad" instead of say, angry, this caught my attention. Often we would be likely to readily conclude that "ohh. this man. Nahh, he wouldnt be saved since he was unwilling to give up his possessions for God." But how many of us can do that? readily? Moreover, this man had great wealth.
Of course I am not saying we leave it at that. It thus serves as a lesson for us. To remind us that we should prepare ourselves for the day when God might call upon us to take up the cross and follow Him. The man kept all the commandments of God, but when asked to give up his all and follow Jesus, he was unable to do so. Aren't many of us like this as well? We go church, we sing hymns, we pray, we dun kill, we dun lie, ... yes, we have all the basics but when it comes to sacrificing ourselves for God, we quickly siam... or we find ourselves unprepared, like the young ruler.
Are you ready right now? Are you ready tmr? next year? ten more years? when Jesus comes? When will we ever be ready?
Point 2. What caught my attention and got me thinking was that the man went away sad, although he wasn't ready to follow God. went away sad... it suddenly seemed to me like this is a good sign. of course, it could work both ways... maybe I am an optimist. :P
What i am going to say is similar to the author's opinion. To me, "going away feeling sad" shows signs of remorse, or even regret. It shows that he had the heart to pursue eternal life and the truth. It is likely that he will ponder more over the matter and hopefully, return back to the Lord. (:
Aren't there also many times whereby we "went away sad" from God? Often, we walked away from God, feeling sad because we feel that we can never match up to the standards of God. How can I possibly give all this up? How can I possibly take up all this sufferings?
I think God feels sad whenever we choose to walk away from Him.
Perhaps, even as I write this right now, I am "away from God, sad". I know that I have fallen short of the glory of God. I have received His grace for me in vain. And I feel powerless to change it. But I do hope that what I speculated about the young ruler is true, such that I may too return back to the Lord safe. I do have the heart to pursue the truth, but often I fall short of God's standard and feel unworthy and too weak to continue. And this is a dangerous thing, for it is very easy for one to walk away from God and towards the devil instead.
Lets all learn to walk towards God.
haha I think that was not the main point why this conversation between the young ruler and Jesus was recorded in the Bible. But ya, sure, it is an interesting food for thought though I feel that we should not dwell too much on this matter.
I have never thought about whether he was saved or not. But when someone commented that the man "went away sad" instead of say, angry, this caught my attention. Often we would be likely to readily conclude that "ohh. this man. Nahh, he wouldnt be saved since he was unwilling to give up his possessions for God." But how many of us can do that? readily? Moreover, this man had great wealth.
Of course I am not saying we leave it at that. It thus serves as a lesson for us. To remind us that we should prepare ourselves for the day when God might call upon us to take up the cross and follow Him. The man kept all the commandments of God, but when asked to give up his all and follow Jesus, he was unable to do so. Aren't many of us like this as well? We go church, we sing hymns, we pray, we dun kill, we dun lie, ... yes, we have all the basics but when it comes to sacrificing ourselves for God, we quickly siam... or we find ourselves unprepared, like the young ruler.
Are you ready right now? Are you ready tmr? next year? ten more years? when Jesus comes? When will we ever be ready?
Point 2. What caught my attention and got me thinking was that the man went away sad, although he wasn't ready to follow God. went away sad... it suddenly seemed to me like this is a good sign. of course, it could work both ways... maybe I am an optimist. :P
What i am going to say is similar to the author's opinion. To me, "going away feeling sad" shows signs of remorse, or even regret. It shows that he had the heart to pursue eternal life and the truth. It is likely that he will ponder more over the matter and hopefully, return back to the Lord. (:
Aren't there also many times whereby we "went away sad" from God? Often, we walked away from God, feeling sad because we feel that we can never match up to the standards of God. How can I possibly give all this up? How can I possibly take up all this sufferings?
I think God feels sad whenever we choose to walk away from Him.
Perhaps, even as I write this right now, I am "away from God, sad". I know that I have fallen short of the glory of God. I have received His grace for me in vain. And I feel powerless to change it. But I do hope that what I speculated about the young ruler is true, such that I may too return back to the Lord safe. I do have the heart to pursue the truth, but often I fall short of God's standard and feel unworthy and too weak to continue. And this is a dangerous thing, for it is very easy for one to walk away from God and towards the devil instead.
Lets all learn to walk towards God.
Good analysis. I too walk away from God's standard all too often. It is easy to think only about yourself and not about what God wants you to do. As this case with the young rich ruler, I think Jesus wants us to break out of our attachments to this world and follow him.
Btw, I am the guy that commented on that blog you referenced. I started my own blog just recently as well.
Posted by
Ron |
11:18 AM
Hey. Nice to hear from you. So i guess you are a Christian yourself? yep, let me know the add of your blog so that we may continue to help each other on our spiritual walk.
Peace.
Posted by
Anonymous |
11:29 AM