The Gospel Is Worthwhile

Today we looked at Mark 10:17-31.  This is an encounter Jesus has with a very wealthy man.  The man's issue?  He lived for his possessions.  He pursued the possessions.  You might even say his identity was tied up in his possessions.  He clearly did not want to let them go.

Jesus recognizes this and tells the man to let go of everything and THEN follow him.  In other words, he could not hold onto these things and pursue Jesus.  This man's pursuits was contradictory to the ways of Jesus.  This man's life was about hoarding.  The ways of Jesus are about giving.  These two things do not go together.

The problem wasn't that this man had possessions.  The problem was that he put the possessions in the position Jesus belongs.  The real sad part of this situation was this man didn't think Jesus was worth giving up his stuff for.  He valued his possessions more than Jesus and his ways.

This is why Jesus says it's hard for a wealthy person to enter the kingdom of God.  The more we have, the more we want.  And the more we want the harder it gets to let any of it go.  This is a vicious cycle we all know too well.

The bottom line Jesus was trying to get across here was that he is worth it.  In fact, he promises that whatever is given up for his and the gospel's sake will be repaid hundredfold.  Another way of saying that would be "it's a fantastic investment!"  Whatever we give toward this end is worth it...because Jesus is worth for more than we can offer.

As a part of Colossae we all tithe to our church.  Throughout history (biblical and beyond) it's clear that the people of God have always given 10% of their income to the congregation they were a part of.  We do this with joy.  But this is a no brainer for us.  In fact, for many people it's not even a sacrifice.  So the questions we would love for you to wrestle with this week are:

Beyond the 10% we all give to our church, what else are we investing in the gospel?

If necessary, are we willing to simplify our lives so we can join in God's mission to reconcile the world to Himself through Jesus at levels we've yet to engage?

As a gospel-centered community we have decided to be a part of all God is doing.  Let's pray that we can collectively engage at deeper levels than ever before.  Let's pray that we can give up whatever necessary to further the gospel message.  Let's pray that we put Jesus in his rightful position.