This is the second of two posts on a faith subject that is short on teaching coverage but long on faith maturity: freedom. Spiritual freedom is one of the most under-taught gospel disciplines, particularly in light of the featured space that freedom is given in Scripture. Two disparate events in Jesus’ ministry, His teaching of the parable of the talents (post one) and His sharing of the story of the rich young man (this post), provide insight into the importance of curating freedom in our personal spiritual journeys. More importantly, these events teach us about two perceptions that can impact how we might curate spiritual freedom: our personal perception of God and our personal perception of ourselves.
The story of the rich young man (or rich young “ruler” in Luke’s gospel) is a familiar story. It is noted in all three synoptic gospels (John passed on it) and is a go-to for teachings on stewardship, hoarding our gifts, and so forth. But it also gives unlikely insight into personal, spiritual blind spots that can derail our faith formation at any point along the way
Our Personal Perception of Ourselves
While you are likely familiar with the story of the rich young man, you may want to take a moment to read Mark 10:17-22 to refresh on the details. (We’ll pause here for a minute while you read the passage…seriously, we want you to refresh on the details…Got it read? Okay, moving on.) As is often the case with familiar stories in the Bible, the familiarity can keep us from seeing anything new. So, let’s do a little mental exercise of stepping into the conversation between the rich young man and Jesus, but tweaking the young man’s question to fit a question you might ask of Jesus today.
“Jesus, what must I do to _____________?”
Fill in the blank with a benefit of the Christian life that you want, or that you think about, or crave. Here are a couple of examples:
Jesus, what must I do to be healed from my emotional hurts?
Jesus, what must I do to be released from the pain of past mistakes?
Jesus, what must I do to inherit eternal life? (You’re allowed to desire the same benefit as the rich young man in this exercise.)
Now, following the pattern of the conversation between Jesus and the young man, explain to Jesus, as the rich young man did, the different ways you’ve tried to achieve this benefit on your own. The rich young man reeled off an impressive list of accomplishments, perhaps hoping Jesus would answer with an assuring “You’re all set! Nice job!” We all have spiritual accomplishments for which we are likely to give ourselves too much credit.
But Jesus didn’t give the young man any kind of atta boy. In fact, Jesus paused, looked at the young man, loved him, and then caught him completely off guard with a probing conclusion of the one thing he needed to do: sell all you have and give to the poor. We don’t know until this moment in Mark’s account of the story that the young man was rich. Jesus obviously knew this would be hard for the young man, which may be why Jesus gave some type of extra gesture to the young man to show that he “loved him.”
Now, after asking Jesus your version of the young man’s question and sharing your spiritual accomplishments in achieving the benefit you seek, take a moment to imagine Jesus pausing in front of you, lovingly cupping His hands around your face, giving you a look that lets you know Jesus deeply loves you, and then saying to you, “You lack one thing, go ___________.” The answer may not be “sell all that you have and give to the poor.” But, as with the young man, the answer will surprise you. Allow Jesus to probe your heart for something you hold tightly to, something that gives you security but is not God. Something that you see as impossible to give up.
And now here is the twist in our mental exercise. Rather than going away sorrowful, as the rich young man did, eavesdrop on the follow-up conversation between Jesus and His disciples. As you ponder the impossibility of giving up the one thing that you lack, hear Jesus say: “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
It won’t be easy. But the experience of God doing the impossible in your life will set you on a path of spiritual freedom, a path that will lead to the abundant life that Jesus spoke of in John 10:10.