Priorities - 4 December 2009

Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good.  If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."….."All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"  Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."  When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth…..  

...... Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?"  Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of . And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. Mark 10:16-30 [NIV]

A friend asked me recently ‘How much disruption would there be if everyone just did the right thing?’  If we all just stopped making excuses and got on and answered the real needs we see every day instead of expecting others to do it?  If we really lived a day at a time and didn’t worry about tomorrow? If we put the needs of others before ourselves? It would be glorious chaos.

Sometimes we get so caught up in looking after ourselves first and forget that loving God and loving others is the most important thing we can do.  We reason that first we should get our lives established, our kids through school, our pension sorted, then we can help, then we can give.

Another young man who came to Jesus and was asked to follow begged leave to bury his father first.  In those days when a person died they were interred in a cave or tomb until the bones were free of flesh and only then were they buried with the rest of the family.  So even if his father had already died that might take some time. Jesus told him to let the dead bury the dead but that he should preach the Kingdom of God.

We don’t have to give away everything like the rich young man but we can decide to give away something, to do something to help and to decide to make a habit of improving on that and let our lives preach the Kingdom of God.

“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
Matthew 25:37-40 [NIV]