radical obedience

I am captivated by Jesus. I'm so intrigued by His words. He is without a doubt, the most radical man that has ever walked this earth. Since doing my School of Biblical Studies last year, I have had an obsession with the gospels. I can't get enough. Lately, I've felt really compelled to meditate on the story of the rich young man (it's in Luke 18.18-30, Matthew 19:16-30 and Mark 19:17-30).


The following is from Luke 18:18-30

¹⁸An important man asked Jesus, "Good Teacher, what must I do to have eternal life?"

¹⁹Jesus said, "Why do you call me good? Only God is good. ²⁰You know the commandments: `Be faithful in marriage. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about others. Respect your father and mother.' "

²¹He told Jesus, "I have obeyed all these commandments since I was a young man."

²²When Jesus heard this, he said, "There is one thing you still need to do. Go and sell everything you own! Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and be my follower." ²³When the man heard this, he was sad, because he was very rich.

²⁴Jesus saw how sad the man was. So he said, "It's terribly hard for rich people to get into God's kingdom! ²⁵In fact, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into God's kingdom."

²⁶When the crowd heard this, they asked, "How can anyone ever be saved?"

²⁷Jesus replied, "There are some things that people cannot do, but God can do anything."

²⁸Peter said, "Remember, we left everything to be your followers!"

²⁹Jesus answered, "You can be sure that anyone who gives up home or wife or brothers or family or children because of God's kingdom ³⁰will be given much more in this life. And in the future world they will have eternal life."

I can't get those words out of my mind. "What must I do to inherit eternal life" is the question that the rich man asks Jesus. Jesus' response blows my mind. "Go and sell everything you own". Jesus doesn't beat around the bush. He doesn't sugar coat it for the rich man. He simply says "Hey, if you're serious about being my disciple, sell your stuff and give it to the needy then follow me." Obviously his possessions were an idol in his life because the rich man became sad and in the other gospels it states that "he became sad and walked away". So here's my question. What if I was the rich man and this is how Jesus responded to me. Would I follow Him? Would I be willing to give up everything I have to follow? AM I WILLING TO GIVE UP EVERYTHING I HAVE TO FOLLOW CHRIST? Are you? Think about it...


There's a book that I'm about to start reading. It's called "Under the Overpass". It's a book about a guy named Miked Yankoski. Mike was extraordinarily challenged by his pastor's sermon: Be the Christian you say you are. Mike was living a comfortable, upper-middle class life. He was attending a Christian college in California and spent much of his time reading about talking about God. "But we were created to be and do, and not merely to discuss", he writes. "The hypocrisy of my life troubled me". He felt he lacked a life of "radical, living obedience". He claimed he depended on Christ, but never put his claim to the test.

So, he set out with a traveling companion, Sam Purvis, to live like the homeless in six American cities. Mike wanted "to put my faith to the test alongside those who live with nothing every day". He set out to understand the life of the homeless and see how the Church responds. His book follows their five month journey, hearing stories of the homeless and constantly struggling to find food, a place to sleep, a bathroom and compassion.