“As Jesus was starting out on His way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to Him, knelt down, and asked, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’” (Mark 10:17 NLT)
If someone came up to you, said to you, or in any way conveyed to you the question: “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” how would you respond? The man in the story was obviously familiar with religious terms, so Jesus explained to him on a level he could clearly understand, but what if someone with whom we’re speaking doesn’t know penal substitutionary atonement from peanut butter and jelly? What if they’re ignorant of our Christian jargon and just want to know how to get right with God?
When I first came to the Lord I knew almost nothing. I hadn’t read the Bible nor listened to many sermons. All I knew was I wasn’t living the kind of life the kids I wanted to hang with were living. They had something that I wanted. They were popular, but not stuffy and conceited; they were friendly and inviting; open and willing to allow me to have a conversation with them. To me, that’s where it starts.
Rich Mullins hits on a major point when he writes: “I am a Christian, not because someone explained the nuts and bolts of Christianity, but because there were people willing to be nuts and bolts.” Obviously, that can be understood in a lot of ways but let me give you my version. If someone isn’t living like Jesus, I’m not in a big hurry to hear what they have to say about Him; however, if the fruit of the Spirit flows from them, I want to hear everything they have to say.
You’ve heard it said, “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”. If that’s true, and I believe it is, when we show how much we care, where do we start in helping them to understand what we really know about Jesus? What are the vital elements that we can’t ignore? ‘
The man in the story above knew the lingo, so the Lord had to take him to the “nuts and bolts”, what Jesus was really saying is the pathway to eternal life. It’s not about what we know, it’s all about WHOM we know; it’s not about how much Scripture we can quote, but how much Scripture we’re living. The Pharisees had much of the Bible memorized, but rather than seeking more effective ways to live it, they tried to pick it apart so they could find loopholes to get around the things they didn’t want to live out.
Explaining the Gospel isn’t complicated. We feel bad about our life because we’re dead spiritually, but because of who Jesus is and what He did on the Cross, we can have life as we’ve never dreamed it could be. We’ve lived our whole lives in rebellion against the Lord but can be forgiven by His grace and given a new beginning. It’s not something we have to work to earn, it’s already been paid for by Jesus. So, what do I need to do? What is this new, eternal life going to cost ME?
The same as it cost the man in the story in Mark 10 – EVERYTHING! “Whoa! What does that mean?” Let me explain it this way: EVERYTHING YOU OWN OR LOVE MUST TAKE SECOND PLACE BEHIND JESUS! “But that’s a very steep price to pay just so that I can feel better about myself!” Yes, it is, and if that’s all you’re looking for go to the spa. But if instead of facing an eternity in hell, isolated and alone because of your life of selfishness, you’d like your sins forgiven and forgotten and to have a home in heaven where it’s perfect in every way and you’ll never want for a thing, it’s nothing in comparison with that.
The road to heaven isn’t easy or everyone would choose it. The truth is, the man in the story in Mark 10 walked away sorrowful because he loved his possessions more than he believed he could love Jesus. That’s the case with most people in the world today because they fail to see that this world is not all there is. I’m not one of them, and I hope you’re not, because there’s nothing I now love more than Jesus, not even my own life.
How about you? Are you willing to give it all to know the only One worth knowing? Once you know Him, He’s all the explanation you’ll need. He’s the “nuts and bolts” of eternal life that you don’t want to miss.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
