This morning I was reading the passage about the rich young ruler and saw something in this passage that I had never seen before. It was one of those moments, encounters really, with the Holy Spirit that you remember for a long, long time. It was like the Holy Spirit opened a box that somehow had been either left unopened or slightly ajar and when it was fully opened, and light allowed to come in, it caused all the other previously opened boxes to somehow be illuminated to a greater measure, and thus, fit better in my understanding. It also may be one of those moments that is far better experienced than shared, but I'll give a whack at it anyway. Here's the passage...
Now, since everything belongs to the Lord...how much of what is on the earth belongs to man, or any single man, woman or child? Nothing! There is nothing that belongs to any of us. It all belongs to God. This is the stewardship principle/concept that the Bible clearly instructs us all to apply to our lives. This much I had laid hold of already, long before this morning. What grabbed me this morning in the rich young ruler passage was how Jesus addressed the idolatry and stewardship and prosperity issues with one proposal. In one offer, "give everything to the poor and I'll give you eternal life"...Jesus brings the rich young ruler face-to-face with what has captivated his heart, more than God. Now, had the rich young ruler embraced this truth...that all that he possessed already belonged to God...that he wasn't a possessor of anything, rather a steward of God's possessions, the offer would've been responded to differently by the rich man.
Consider this...Jesus only asked the rich young ruler to give up what the rich young ruler possessed. Had the rich young ruler come to Jesus already embracing in his heart that he was no more than a steward of all the wealth in his hands, he could've truthfully responded to Jesus offer to "give all that you possess" with, "but I don't possess anything, it all belongs to the Father."
Jesus could've very well responded to this by saying, "You are correct, the earth and all it contains belongs to the Father, and since it belongs to Him, He is requiring of you, this very moment, to give all that you manage for Him, to be given to the poor." The rich young ruler would've then been able to, without fear, without anxiety, without stress, to simply let it all go, because it never belonged to him in the first place...it wasn't his to keep...he was just a steward.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that, until this morning, I never saw Jesus emphasizing, "give all that you possess...". Had the rich young ruler somehow felt that God owned 80% of the wealth that he oversaw, and that he owned 20% of the wealth...in this encounter, by requesting, "give all that you possess," Jesus was only asking for the 20% that had somehow come to possess the rich young ruler's heart. Jesus was only asking for that part of the wealth that the rich young ruler managed, that he would struggle giving up because he "believed" it was his, and not God's.
If we will manage God's money rather than possess it for ourselves, it sure will be a lot easier when He comes to us asking for a redistribution of it. After all, can't He do with His wealth what He wants to do?
Luke 18:18-23 18 A ruler questioned Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 19 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments, 'DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'" 21 And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth." 22 When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." 23 But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. NASUI think we've all read this passage a thousand times or more. And many of you probably have had the Holy Spirit illuminate what I'll be sharing about in this post, already, what I saw for the first time today. The Bible instructs us as to Who possesses what...
Ps 24:1The Lord owns everything. It is all His. The earth, the entire earth belongs to Him. Not only does the earth belong to Him, but everything that is in and on the earth, belongs to Him...this includes man. Every man, woman and child belong to God. Every human being, every one of them, without exception belongs to God. Every penny, every ruble, every peso, every yen, every single expression of material and wealth on this earth, belong to the Lord.
The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains,
The world, and those who dwell in it. NASU
Now, since everything belongs to the Lord...how much of what is on the earth belongs to man, or any single man, woman or child? Nothing! There is nothing that belongs to any of us. It all belongs to God. This is the stewardship principle/concept that the Bible clearly instructs us all to apply to our lives. This much I had laid hold of already, long before this morning. What grabbed me this morning in the rich young ruler passage was how Jesus addressed the idolatry and stewardship and prosperity issues with one proposal. In one offer, "give everything to the poor and I'll give you eternal life"...Jesus brings the rich young ruler face-to-face with what has captivated his heart, more than God. Now, had the rich young ruler embraced this truth...that all that he possessed already belonged to God...that he wasn't a possessor of anything, rather a steward of God's possessions, the offer would've been responded to differently by the rich man.
Consider this...Jesus only asked the rich young ruler to give up what the rich young ruler possessed. Had the rich young ruler come to Jesus already embracing in his heart that he was no more than a steward of all the wealth in his hands, he could've truthfully responded to Jesus offer to "give all that you possess" with, "but I don't possess anything, it all belongs to the Father."
Jesus could've very well responded to this by saying, "You are correct, the earth and all it contains belongs to the Father, and since it belongs to Him, He is requiring of you, this very moment, to give all that you manage for Him, to be given to the poor." The rich young ruler would've then been able to, without fear, without anxiety, without stress, to simply let it all go, because it never belonged to him in the first place...it wasn't his to keep...he was just a steward.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that, until this morning, I never saw Jesus emphasizing, "give all that you possess...". Had the rich young ruler somehow felt that God owned 80% of the wealth that he oversaw, and that he owned 20% of the wealth...in this encounter, by requesting, "give all that you possess," Jesus was only asking for the 20% that had somehow come to possess the rich young ruler's heart. Jesus was only asking for that part of the wealth that the rich young ruler managed, that he would struggle giving up because he "believed" it was his, and not God's.
If we will manage God's money rather than possess it for ourselves, it sure will be a lot easier when He comes to us asking for a redistribution of it. After all, can't He do with His wealth what He wants to do?
