Trusting Jesus' Call

Mark 10:28 Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!”
 
PETER’S words seem to shout from the page. Jesus had told the rich young ruler, “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” That’s precisely what the disciples had done. Matthew had been a wealthy tax collector. Others had a comfortable financial life and regular routines. But now they lived among the poor, receiving support from people along the way. And Peter was often separated from his wife. You can imagine why he seems upset and frustrated when Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”  How do you respond to such dramatic words of sacrifice and impossibility?
   Let’s step back to the rich young ruler’s question of Jesus: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” We learned this was a works question. He approached eternal life as a task to accomplish. Then Jesus told the man he needed to know Jesus is God. Submit to his authority. Receive eternal life.
   Peter and the disciples heard this, too. But in that moment of Jesus’ dramatic “impossible” statement, how do the disciples respond to faithfully trust God cause the impossibles to become God’s possibles?
   Yes, the disciples must consider that they gave up much. And they must also remember there wasn’t one thing of value when contrasted to the Kingdom promise. Eventually the disciples would learn this. But in the meantime, they needed to remain faithful to Jesus’ impossible call on their lives, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
   When you wonder if a life given up for Jesus is worthwhile, listen to the apostle Paul. You could say he was a rich young ruler among the Pharisees and his culture when Jesus called him. Here’s how he settled any question of value in his life: Philippians 3:7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.