But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief.
Job 16:5 (NIV)
| Keeping by Cathy Vinson |
To what things is this man referring? Or in its final analysis does it really matter? The origin of "keeping" within the human heart reveals itself in various guises. Let's see. This young man approaches Jesus saying, "GOOD Master, what GOOD thing must I do to have eternal life? (vs 16)." One remarked that it's almost as if he is saying "Jesus, you're good and I'm good, so what good thing should I do?..." Jesus quickly challenges this. The "things kept" by the young man are the commandments. Yet he is keen to acknowledge that he is still lacking (deficient, shortcoming, to be behind, in want). He is "rich" in righteousness and perplexed that he is still in want of the life he seeks. "All these things I have kept..." 'I have kept (preserved, guarded, watched over) many commands, and that very deliberateness in keeping my righteousness is keeping in me the holding of my possessions. The great things I have done and seek to do are treasures to me, like the great possessions I refuse to part with.' Jesus knows the human heart, "deceitfully wicked" (Jer 17:9), and this clinging acclaim of past trophies and his present refusal to depart from his possessions seem to bear up in the same origin..in the heart. But it is the loss of "these things" that will bring him true treasure in heaven (vs 21). On the heels of the man's sorrowful departure, Jesus spoke of eternal life inherited by those who "forsake...for the sake of My name" (vs 29). Losing his treasure along with losing his own righteousness: somewhere in his keeping heart were both his possessions and his righteousness. Do we want life? Then we, too, must lose such riches. Is our keeping revealed in our own right stance intact with our material possessions? A selfish, boastful Christian is a difficult testimony for the Truth. There is a disgust about it, as the world sees. Galatians 3:5 reads "Does God give you His Spirit and work miracles among you because you work the law or because you believe the message?" True gain comes from losing that trust of ourselves within ourselves. This word to obey came to the young ruler smack dab in his quest towards eternal life. The word deterred him, and great sorrow took its place. All too often, we too are clinging to "these things." But the Kingdom seeks those who will "FORSAKE...for the SAKE of Me" (vs 29). |
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"All these things I have kept from my youth" (Matthew 19:20) |
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Other Whispers from the Wilderness Devotions are found HERE
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