Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

Discipleship

The Rich Young Ruler

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I’ve written about the “rich young ruler” a few times before but reading about the plight of our persecuted brothers and sisters brought the story to mind again. These days when preachers deliver a sermon on this parable (Mark 10:17-22), they tend to lean one of two ways. Either they will brush aside the command of Jesus to sell everything as specific to the man in the story and not a general principle for all Christians to follow.

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Or they will say a few may be called to do this, but the important thing is we don’t hold too tight to the things of this world and not to pursue riches for our own comfort. I have held the opinion the point of the story is we must be willing to leave everything at a moment’s notice if that’s what God leads us to do, and not to question such a command should it come. I now believe all these interpretations may miss the point altogether.

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Radical Obedience

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I’ve been mulling over the phrase “radical obedience” in my mind of late. Radical means far-reaching or thorough. That describes the type of obedience I long to have with Jesus. In fact, I would say it is the type of obedience demanded by Christ and required of all those who claim Him to be their Lord. Radical obedience is thorough. It is far-reaching. What it is not occasional or situational. Too many follow Jesus when it is convenient or expedient. When push comes to shove, their obedience wanes.

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This type of obedience, which is no obedience at all, runs rampant through our churches and results in an abundance of nominal Christians. Practicing radical obedience should be the rule, not the exception. It is sad the opposite is reality today.

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Filled With the Word of God

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D.L. Moody once said, “When a man is filled with the Word of God you cannot keep him still. If a man has got the Word, he must speak or die.” This is the kind of man I want to be. Can you imagine being so filled with the Word of God it was impossible to keep silent? Isn’t this the type of person every Christ-follower should aspire to be?

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Until we are so obsessed with Jesus everything else ceases to matter, I do not think we have yet discovered the abundant life Christ promised to those who follow Him (John 10:10). What holds us back from such a deep desire and longing for God’s Word? I can answer from my own experience, and perhaps you will relate…

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Urgent Enough

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Something with which I have been struggling is whether I am living my life urgent enough. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older or because I’m gaining more clarity on my mission here on earth, but I have a constant suspicion my life is not being lived urgent enough. The fact is our lives are finite. They are going to end. Most of us probably do not have as much time remaining as we think we do. I know this because few of us think about the end of our lives in a meaningful way.

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As long as we are healthy, we tend to always think there will be a tomorrow, next week, and next year. Those who learn they only have weeks or months to live tend to live their lives differently; they live with an urgency about them. The rest of us? We take life as it comes, always planning for a tomorrow that may never arrive.

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Counter-Cultural

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In a world that promotes self-aggrandizement and getting ahead, living life as a humble servant is truly counter-cultural. It is to invite ridicule, derision, and condescending pity from the masses. No one chooses to live this way because it is easy or socially acceptable. We choose it because Jesus told us this is the way to live. By His own example, Jesus showed although He was superior to all, He chose to be a servant to all (John 13:3-17). He told His disciples anyone who sought to get ahead would be sent to the back of the line (Matthew 19:23-30).

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In the upside-down Kingdom of God, the way to get ahead is to stop promoting yourself and begin building up others. For followers of Christ, life is not about becoming the best known or loved. It’s about serving others in such a way they might see Jesus in us and come to know Him for themselves.

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