“FOLLOW ME!”

Mark 10:17-22                                  (ESV)

“17 And as HE (JESUS) 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?"

18 And JESUS said to him, "Why do you call ME good? No one is good except GOD alone.

19 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.'"

20 And he said to HIM, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth."

21 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”."

22 Disheartened by the saying, HE WENT AWAY SORROWFUL, FOR HE HAD GREAT POSSESSIONS.”

There are many lessons that can be learned from this passage of Scripture.  One is that you can’t value possessions more than you LOVE the LORD!  I have never been blessed with great wealth, but I have been blessed with Blessings far beyond what money can buy.  The “Rich Young Man” loves his wealth more than he desired a relationship with JESUS, so his decision was to accept earthly blessings rather than eternal, Heavenly Blessings, which we know was not the wisest of moves!

But the thing that is gripping my heart today is that JESUS told this “Rich Young Man” that he needed to “FOLLOW ME”, and he went away sorrowful!  While it is true that he had great wealth, my feelings are that the “Rich Young Man” was accustomed to getting his own way, and he wasn’t prepared to “FOLLOW ME”, especially when this man was basically a pauper.  Why would he subject himself to such a lowly lifestyle when he was used to calling the shots in his life?  If anyone should be leading, it should be him???

For the longest, calling the shots was something that I excelled in.  Taking the reigns and LEADING was something that seemed almost natural for me.  When I woke up from a seventeen day coma, I realized that I had not been “in charge” of even breathing!  If I was not making things happen, then who was?  For the longest, a machine was breathing for me and I was “just along for the ride”!  Then I awoke to being in a severe “fog” for about three weeks, which got better, but still “slower” than usual for many months.  

Nowhere in Scripture have I found for us to forge ahead and GOD will bail us out when we get in a bind!  Instead I find Scriptures saying “BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD” and “WAIT ON THE LORD” and “YOU HAVE ONLY TO BE SILENT”!  You can’t “FOLLOW ME” when you are two steps ahead of GOD.  Whether you are a poor as a church mouse or a “Rich Young Man”, you MUST “FOLLOW ME”, allowing JESUS to LEAD the way!