The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Submitted by Rev. Ina Golaiy St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church Why is it that it is only when tragedy strikes that we feel a real need to have a personal relationship with Christ? And what if we never have any tragedy in our lives, how can we develop such a need in our lives? In Mark 10: 17- 31 a man comes to Jesus. We are not told very much about him, but by reading the passage we can assume that he was a rich man whose life, by all accounts, was very good. He had not, as far as we are told, experienced any major crises in his life and from the question he asks, "What must I do to inherit eternal life," he probably was thinking about what was going to happen to him when he died. Jesus says to him, "You know the commandments," and the man replies, "I have kept all these since my youth." Then Jesus says, "You lack one thing; go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." The one thing that the young man lacked was a real relationship with Jesus. His comfortable, safe life was a hindrance to his ability to internalize his faith. His faith had been something he 'did' and so he believed there was something he could 'do' to inherit eternal life. Jesus basically tells him to put himself in a position that requires him to be totally dependent on God, for it is only God who can save. The young man was "shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions." He chose his material comforts, as many today do, rather than having a relationship with Jesus and serving others. But as we read further along in this passage, in walking away, he lost much more than he could have imagined. As Jesus says, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left everything for my sake and the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age and eternal life in the age to come." 10/15/2004
