For
most of us, we live our lives with great intention. We decide at a young age,
"what we want to be when we grow up," and then follow through, get the education or other necessary tools to
accomplish our dreams and make it happen. If we decide we want to spend our
lives in a loving marriage, we seek out our "soul mate', pop the question
and begin our life of "happily ever after."
But
when it comes to our walk with Christ, daily seeking to be more like him, our
good intentions are often cast aside and we move along in the flowing currents
of life doing little to be more like Jesus. We did to stumble into doing
"good works" in the name of the Lord rather than pursuing what God
has already prepared for us to do...read Ephesians 2:8-10.
The
story of the rich young ruler and his encounter with Jesus is a great example
of intention...read on and see if you catch my drift.
And
as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him
and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me
good? No one is good except God alone. You
know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not
steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and
mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all
these I have kept from my youth.”
And
Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure
in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away
sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
(Bold is my emphasis)
Now Jesus was not telling him to do a good deed
and he would find himself in Heaven...rather He was telling him to intentionally
get rid of the God he was now serving; to sever those ties and then
make the intentional choice to follow HIM. He could no longer just do things inadvertently
on a checklist and thus deem himself fit for Heaven. In fact, the rich young
ruler knew this instinctively and that's why he had run up to Jesus in the
first place. He knew that the life he had been living, though quite good in the
eyes of the world, would never stand up in the eyes of His Maker.
But unfortunately, he made the wrong choice and
decided that his inadvertent lifestyle would have to suffice... for since he had
great wealth, his money and possessions were more important to him than
"treasures in heaven"...and he went away in great sorrow.
Maybe you've been living like the rich young
ruler and want to know what you must do to inherit eternal life. Your God may
be career, family, fame, the "newest toys" and the list could go on
forever; but what would Jesus tell you to get rid of and which ties to your
"God" do you need to sever?
INTENTIONALLY, do that today! Turn from what has
been keeping you from following Jesus and make the necessary changes to put
Christ first in your life. Don't just get pulled along in the rushing waters of
life, doing a good deed or two when the timing is right or you're in the mood
to help someone else.
Yes, for far too many of us, we are inadvertent
Christians and we are living our lives without the intentions to take up our
cross and follow Jesus. The path may be rocky; there will be times of trials,
discouragements and heart-break, but it is what Jesus has called us to do.
The choice as always is YOURS....you can live in
sorrow as the rich young ruler choose to do or you can live in abundance as
Christ has promised to those who follow Him.
Living
Intentionally for Jesus...Trusting Him for Each Day,
WPQ
Poem
for the day...
Starting each and every day
With the breaking of the sun;
Knowing Jesus could return
Before my day is done…
So I will spend each moment
Living in such a way…
That all will know I’m heaven
bound
If this should be the day!
WPQ @ January
2011
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