Jesus sees through to what really holds back this man from following Him and calls the man out asking him to give up the very thing that keeps him clutching to this world. Money can easily keep us attached to things of less meaning but if we use it and give happily as a blessing for others we will see its fruit on earth and more importantly in heaven.
Just before this verse the disciples are talking with each other and then ask Jesus who is the greatest in heaven. I have a feeling they arguing about who was the best and who would be the greatest of them in heaven and Jesus totally shuts them down and points out the faith of the little ones around him. Child like faith is difficult as the years grow on us but Jesus shows us here that is the most rewarding way to experience Him. We can learn a lot from how much children must rely on their parents and we too can be like that to Jesus no matter how old we get.
It’s all about faith. We have to believe God can move the mountain if we want to see the mountain move and genuine faith comes from sincerely spending time with Jesus and trusting and seeking his way in our lives. There will be many many barriers and mountains in our lives and only by faith will we see them move. And even if some of them never move we have to have even more faith to trust that what we think is on the other side wasn’t truly meant for us. God always has a plan that is greater and more fulfilling than ours and it takes some real faith to fully align with it. Every day is a lesson in faith, take the growth day by day. Rejoice in the good and press on in the bad knowing that when our faith is tested it is only to make us stronger.
I’ve always loved how to the point in this verse Jesus is. If we want to follow him we have to let go of all our selfish desires and seek him day in and day out. The picture he creates of hanging on to the worldly things of life like running after money, or attention from others, or self satisfaction we will eventually lose grasp of it because Jesus knows we will never get enough from it. Once we get one big paycheck or one big social post we will just search for the next one and expect it to be even bigger. What do we benefit if all these things come, but we’ve lost ourselves and forgotten the importance of relying on Jesus? As Jesus states nothing we gain from this life will be worth sacrificing what He has to offer in the next.
Putting myself in this place this morning got me emotional. This is the same chapter where Jesus feeds the 4,000 it was packed with people who traveled from all over to see, hear and be healed by Jesus. Just imagining the roar of the crowd every time someone was brought to new life through Jesus’ healing so they could see, hear, walk and speak. These people in need of healing were carried by friends and family and laid at the feet of Jesus. This is was a great reminder for what we need to do for those broken around us and those in need. In prayer we need to carry these people to the feet of Jesus and ask for healing, and allow ourselves to be carried by those around us to find healing as well.
Every morning the waves of worry turn us all into Peter but he still had the faith to walk out onto the water toward Jesus. He may have started sinking but Jesus still brought him to safety back on the ship. Jesus still called him out on to the waters even though He knew Peter would begin to sink. Jesus asks for our faith especially in the waves of life and when the waves seem to get to be too much we just need to keep walking toward Jesus in faith pushing aside the doubt that the world creates because on the other side we will see His power and His faithfulness to push us to do things we never thought possible.