A Deal Breaker

THE RICH YOUNG MAN

 

Jesus told him, "I you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow е? But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Matthew 19:21-22 (NLT)

 

Think of the last time you came face-to-face with a "deal breaker." It looked as if all systems were go in some area of your life, and then you discovered some detail or condition you found unacceptable. Take these, for example:

 

You are offered a great job with better pay, but it requires more travel and being away from your wife and kids more than you would like.

 

Your daughter asks you if she may go to the party of a friend you really like, but you find out there will be no adult supervision.

 

Your neighbors ask you and your wife to "double" with them, but you find out that they plan to attend an event that includes heavy drinking.

 

Into every life, some deal breakers, situations with specific terms and conditions that require you to say no, must fall.

 

Sometimes God presents some deal breakers of his own. Jesus once met a wealthy young leader who had to decide if he could accept Jesus' conditions for discipleship. He was a good man who kept God's commandments, yet he was aware of an empty place in his life.

 

"What else must I do?" he asked Jesus, who genuinely loved the man and wanted to add him to his growing number of followers.

 

Jesus called him to do what his apostles had done, which was to leave everything behind and follow him.

 

That was the deal breaker!

 

This rich, powerful young man wanted to follow Jesus but not as much as he wanted to hang on to his stuff. The men who had given up everything to follow Jesus shook up the world for God's Kingdom, while this reluctant young man ended his life as a sad case of unfulfilled potential.

 

Never see Jesus' call to follow him unreservedly as a deal breaker. Consider it an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those around you. What could keep you from following him completely? What would you struggle to give up?

 

Taken from “The One Year Men of the Bible” by James Stuart Bell April 17