Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. "There is still one thing you haven't done," he told him. "Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Mark 10:21
Throughout His ministry on earth, Jesus taught that we are either "all in" or not in at all. There is no in-between or "almost all in." Following Jesus means refusing to follow anyone or anything else but Him. After all, it is only when we stop following everything else in this world that we can fully follow Him. In a world that seeks so much of our time, attention, and affection, Jesus calls us to live solely for Him, with undivided loyalty.
Jesus called a man in Mark 10, a passage of Scripture we have been studying together this week, to live with undivided loyalty. In this passage of Scripture, a man asked Jesus how he could receive eternal life (verse 17). We read yesterday that Jesus answered his question by naming some of the 10 Commandments, which the man claimed to have kept since he was young. Because Jesus knew this man was looking to his good works to earn salvation, Jesus answered, “There is still one thing you haven’t done…go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (verse 21). Jesus extended this man an invitation to be one of His disciples and follow Him. It was the invitation of a lifetime! Unfortunately, this man had divided loyalty. Mark 10 reveals that he chose not to accept Jesus’ invitation of a lifetime because he was not willing to give up his wealth in order to follow Jesus.
We are all tempted at times to have divided loyalty. Some might be tempted by wealth, a person, an achievement, or something else that keeps our focus off of Christ. The question is, will we say "no" to those things in order to fully follow Christ? If we do, we will find the ultimate joy that comes from knowing and loving Christ with everything within us.
What would it look like for you today to fully follow Jesus with undivided loyalty? Maybe you need to start doing something, such as sharing your faith or spending more time talking to Him in prayer. Perhaps going "all-in" as a follower of Christ looks like avoiding something, such as this world and the things in it. Whatever you decide, take a step today to be "all in" when it comes to following Christ, the Savior of the world.
Mark 10:21-27
21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” 24 This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”
26 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.
27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”
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