OUR COMMITMENT TO CHRIST
Mark 10:13–22
Trust is not something that comes easily to most of us. Perhaps for good reason, we are born with a certain innate skepticism, and the people around us generally have to prove themselves trustworthy before we will entrust ourselves to them.
When we were kids, most of us looked at our parents with the jaundiced eye of a banker sizing up a loan applicant when they promised they would hold onto us for our first bike ride, catch us when we jumped into the deep end of the pool and buy us an ice cream if we didn’t enjoy a roller coaster as much as they said we would.
Perhaps it is because it is so difficult for us that trust — which is really just another name for faith — lies at the very heart of the message of Scripture.
From the Garden of Eden to the General Epistles, the biblical authors constantly convey God’s simple (and yet profound) message to His creatures: Will you trust Me?
There are some shining moments in Scripture when the answer to this question has been yes: Abraham at Moriah, Moses before Pharaoh, Mary at the annunciation. Sadly though, there are far too many moments when the answer has been no.
Few examples stand out so starkly as the Israelites’ refusal to enter the promised land. Though they had seen the great miracles in Egypt, the Israelites just could not bring themselves to trust God to take care of them.
Total commitment is demonstrated in our childlike trust in Christ. (13–16)
Trust would not come easily for Jesus’ disciples either. Jesus knew the disciples would one day face challenges far beyond their present imagination. Surely, this is the reason He spent so much time inculcating a new sense of trust in His followers.
The story of Jesus reaching out to the little children is one of these “training stories.” When people brought their children to Jesus, the disciples tried to shoo them away. When Jesus saw this, He angrily rebuked His disciples and told them to let the children come, “for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Children make a fitting image of God’s kingdom because of their childlike trust.
While it is true that we are born with a certain skepticism that makes us wary of that parental encouragement to ride a bike, jump in a pool or ride a roller coaster, that same skepticism is mainly overcome by our willingness to finally trust our parents when they encourage us to do so.
We leap as children because we know that our parents will be the net for us when we need them. In this passage, Jesus urged His disciples to be like these trusting children.
Total commitment is demonstrated as we strive for obedience. (17–20)
At the other end of the spectrum from these trusting children stands the rich young ruler. Eager to inherit eternal life, this young man of means pleaded with Jesus, “What must I do?” Jesus’ first response seems simple enough: “Obey the commandments.” This, the young man insisted, he had done. Surely there must be something else.
Total commitment is demonstrated when we follow Jesus wholeheartedly. (21–22)
That “something else” proved to be the young man’s weak spot. True commitment to God — true trust — would involve the young man’s doing the one thing that would be too much for him: selling his many possessions and following Jesus. This, the young man was unwilling to do.
While he seemed willing to trust God in the “small” areas, when it came to the “big” matter of his great wealth, the young man was unwilling to commit. Complete commitment was a bridge too far for him. Yet, what Jesus asks and requires of us is just that sort of commitment. A life of faith is a life of trust, a life of complete commitment to God.
By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies, Samford University
Share with others: