Walk Away ______

Text: Mark 10:17-31
Title: “Walk Away ________”
10/11/09 Clarksville

It isn’t often you see a rich man run, at least not dressed like this. He wasn’t wearing his running shoes or softball cleats. He wasn’t barefoot on the beach. He was wearing his business suit, complete with a power tie. He wasn’t running through an airport or trying to catch a cab. He wasn’t running for exercise, running for office, or running because someone was chasing him. He was running for his life. The sense of urgency wouldn’t let him take his normal, confident stride of pride. He was running away - hoping to distance himself from the fear of an uncertain eternity. He was also running towards - towards the One he hoped could help him find the peace that seemed so elusive.
This man was rich. Many would have seen his wealth as a sign of God’s blessing. He was a hard driving business man but he was honest, and everyone knew where to find him on Sunday because he was as religious as he was rich. His reputation was as healthy as his bank account, but there was still something missing. He was still hungry, dissatisfied enough to have a sense of urgency about what he didn’t have. He needed more than what his good religion was getting him, and when he suspected he might be able to find it with Jesus, he ran toward him as hard and fast as he could.
When he found Jesus, the first thing he did was fall at his feet. Not in exhaustion, but in humility. It was a strange sight, such a powerful man in a heap before the rebel rabbi. That kind of thing didn’t happen every day - not with people in his tax bracket anyway. He caught his breath… “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said it with such passion and conviction, such desperation that those who stood within hearing distance must have thought whatever Jesus said, he would be willing to do. Maybe he framed it that way because he knew about inheritances. We don’t know how he acquired his wealth. Maybe it was inherited from a rich relative. However he acquired it, it wasn’t enough to satisfy the hunger in his heart or ease the burden of his mind. “What do I have to do to inherit eternal life?”

“You know the commandments.” “Yes sir, I do - have kept them since I was a boy.” And he had. He wasn’t just rich, he was religious. He honored the Sabbath. Didn’t tell lies, kill people or build any idols. Didn’t cheat on his wife or covet other people’s possessions. He was as religious as they come but all the rule keeping in the world, even combined with his great wealth, couldn’t satisfy the hunger in his heart to be at peace about his eternal destiny. Before that day, anyone looking at him would have been shocked that he didn’t already have it - peace, confidence, assurance that all was well. But he didn’t. He was so uncertain of it that in desperation he ran to Jesus looking for another step to take, another rule to keep, another act to perform. It was if he was saying, “I kept the commandments. It’s not enough - there has to be something more.”

Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. I’m not sure how long it took for Jesus to finish this sentence but something tells me the religious rich man was hanging on every syllable. Then the answer he could have never anticipated: "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

Whatever air he had left just got sucked out of him. What kind of answer is that? I think he went to Jesus with hopes of finding out something he could just add to what he was already doing. He was used to adding, that was way of life for this rich man. Riches + religion, and a little Jesus added in, that would work just fine. But sell everything and then follow Jesus who knows where? You’ve got to be kidding!

He hadn’t done anything bad, but being good wasn’t good enough. Jesus was asking him to extend goodness to others, then walk away from everything he had to follow Jesus. Jesus wasn’t asking for a one-time thing, but a whole new way of life. This is the pearl of great price, the treasure in the field but he didn’t know if he could give up everything else to gain it.

Now the rich and religious runner is in a dilemma. He looks at what he already has and wants to keep, looks at what he needs, and knows there is no way for him to have both. He’s desperate. He’s just not sure he’s desperate enough to do what Jesus asks.
That’s a tough place to stand, that difficult dilemma between want and need. We’ve all been there. It’s like there’s a tug of war going on and the rope is wrapped around our heart. I experienced it at the dealership the last time I got a car. I wanted a Mustang. Red or black would have been just fine. I could see myself making pastoral visits in style. I wanted it - the 8 cylinder. But I needed something bigger (and a lot slower!), with a back seat big enough for full grown adults who would like to be able get out without the help of a pull on the arm and push in the rear. A tug of the heart- between what I wanted, and what I needed.
The same thing happens with the internal conversation about the 2nd plate (or 3rd) at the China Buffet. Want vs. need. So much food, so easy. It’s hard to leave a buffet without wanting to get more than your money’s worth. Too many times wants have won.
We’re actually having this need/want conversation with the church board as we are evaluating how we are using our space and the possibility of adding space in the future. We’re trying to distinguish between wants and needs and praying for God’s help to figure it out because we know that when wants win out over needs, it’s not good.
When you know the difference between a want and a need and are standing where a choice has to be made, it can be tough. More than once we’ve made the wrong decision. Homes, cars, clothes and countless other things have been bought more on want than need. It’s why the US is the fattest nation of the planet, because people repeatedly choose want over need even when it is to the detriment of their own health. Usually when want wins over need, it’s not good.
That’s where the religious rich man stood, in the difficult place of decision, struggling between keeping hold of what he wanted, or letting it all go to gain what he needed most. What kind of choice is that? Why can’t Jesus just be added to everything else?

Show Video - “Stool” by One Time Blind
The man in Mark 10 couldn’t do it either. Couldn’t chose needs over wants, Savior over self. Instead of walking with Jesus, he walked away from Him. He walked away sad.

It’s a terrible ending to a story that started with such promise. A man so spiritually hungry that he ran to Jesus ends a life-changing encounter without any change, except now instead of just being empty, he’s sad too. I don’t think he’s alone. Many of us have been down the same road. We’ve heard Jesus speak a difficult or demanding word. But self won out over the Savior, wants trumped needs. We kept what we had but lost something in the process. And we went away sad.

This story makes me want to say, “Can you make it any harder, Jesus?” And the answer is No, I don’t think He can. To be honest, I want to try to make it more enticing, make it easier to accept. But it would be a disservice to the radical demands that discipleship requires. It is costly. In fact it will cost us the same thing it cost Jesus - everything. The rich, religious man got that, and he walked away sad.
No matter how many times we’ve walked away sad, unable or unwilling to accept the demands of being a disciple of Jesus, that doesn’t have to be the ending of our story today. People of Grace, what difficult demands has Jesus been asking of you? In what areas have you been unable or unwilling to submit to His expectations for you? Today, as He speaks a new word or reminds you of an old one, in this life-changing encounter with Jesus, will anything change? In the the story being written of you today, you get to write the last line. It will go something like this: “I heard Jesus speaking to me. His voice was clear. His expectations were great. And I walked away __________”