Simple Faith

March 13, 2016 Background Scripture: Mark 10:17 – 31 Lesson Passage: Mark 10:17 – 31 Many times we would rather do great deeds than exercise simple faith. There are times when we would prefer to depend on our own ability and intellect than trust a superior power. These attitudes can be exaggerated when we have great positions or substance to rely on. But if God required great wealth or substance, intellect or social attainment, or even physical strength, then salvation would not be available to everyone. Those physical things will always separate people into different categories or social castes. Thanks be to God that eternal salvation does not depend on our substance or ability. Yet, the simplicity of God’s plan will often leave many people perplexed and stumbling. Much of this appears to be the case with the man in today’s lesson who ran to Jesus one day seeking eternal life. When today’s text is combined with the account as recorded by Matthew and Luke, we learn that this was a young man who happened to be a ruler. All three accounts indicate that he was very wealthy materially. What Jesus offered him would have required an act of faith on the young man’s part. Instead, the young man was looking for a deed he could perform in exchange for eternal life. From a worldly perspective, it appears that the man had it all. He still had his youth, he had worldly position (fame), and he was very rich. Beyond that, how he responded to Jesus’ statements about good deeds indicates that he also had good character. It’s truly amazing that a young wealthy ruler could still have impeccable character from his childhood. This is what likely brought him to Jesus. He knew he was a good person but he also knew that something was missing in his life. Put another way, he was asking Jesus how he could behave better so that his character would be good enough for him to earn eternal life. As I stated above, he had it all: youth, position, and wealth. Jesus advised him to give up two of those: position and wealth. He would give up his position to follow Jesus and he would give up his wealth to donate to the poor. The gospel writers record that the thought of giving up his wealth caused him grief. I think it is prudent to take a brief look at grief before we rush to judgment concerning this young man’s decision. Grief is a normal human emotional response brought on by the loss or perceived loss of something in one’s life. But the greater question is: What value did he place on eternal life? I believe this is one of the challenges of evangelism. What does it take for a spiritually loss person to value eternal life more than whatever they have or wish to acquire in this life? Through lessons such as this, we are reminded that greed and hoarding are powerful attitudes. We may be willing to add but greed will make it unpalatable to consider giving up anything. How many times did we hear the invitation to accept Jesus before we surrendered? What held us back? There is no record of anyone being saved by performing some great act or kind deed. Spiritual salvation still requires simple faith. Do you trust God to save you based on His plan or would you rather develop your own plan and try to negotiate with God to accept yours? We are saved by grace through faith. God has a plan and all He requires of us is simple faith. Robert C. Hudson March 2, 2016