“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)
THE PRICE OF REAL BEAUTY
The more we see Jesus, the weaker we become.
The cost to see Jesus is our weakness. The more we see His beauty, the more light is shown on our failures and shortcomings. Although uncomfortable—this is not a bad thing. We will only see the cross rightly when we see ourselves rightly.
The beginning of discipleship is understanding our poverty apart from Christ. When we see the depravity of that chasm between who we are and who God calls us to be, there we hear the promise: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
NARROW WAY SORROW
A rich young man once approached Jesus:
“Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”
And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:17-22)
Eternal life, apart from the grace of God, produces sorrow in the human heart. Everything we do to earn eternal life will consistently fall short. It is a hopeless ambition. Jesus didn’t want the young man’s good works or his belongings. He wanted his heart.
“Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:24-27)
The rich man’s heart was clouded with delicacies and delights. He was too busy building his own kingdom to build God’s kingdom. Although the disciples weren’t rich with material possessions, they saw themselves in the young man. They all had attachments to this world. Jesus gave them a striking response. He explained that eternal life isn’t about gritting their teeth and giving everything up. It is about doing life with Him.
The call of God is impossible to fulfill without Jesus. It is easy to over-spiritualize the commands of Jesus in order to make obedience attainable. But this is cheapening the grace of God to a version of discipleship we can excel in. It is taking Jesus out of our spiritual life so we can set the standard instead. The way is hard that leads to life because the narrow way is impossible without God.
“Above all, … [grace] is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: ‘ye were bought at a price,’ and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
WALKING IN THE SPIRIT
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-17)
The law proved we are unable to follow God by our own strong will and diligence. We will always fall short, cut corners, pick and choose what we like, and fit God into our own kingdoms. Jesus knew we needed help to obey His commands. So, He asked the Father to give us a helper: The Holy Spirit. The Father sent the Spirit of God, by Jesus, to help.
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7)
Jesus did what we could not. He made a way for us to walk before God perfectly. The question is no longer whether to “do this” or “don’t do that” but “Jesus, how much grace will you give me to love You wholeheartedly?”
We walk in perfection by walking in the Spirit. Now, how do we practically do this?
WALKING IN THE SPIRIT BEGINS WITH NO CONDEMNATION.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)
In Christ, there is no condemnation when we come up short. This is the miracle of the cross and the blood of Jesus. There is only repentance of sin, getting back up, and setting our eyes back on the perfecter of our faith. Although we have been set free, we do have to choose to live free. If we consistently beat ourselves up when we make mistakes, it is like putting ourselves in a prison cell that has already been unlocked. We cannot walk in the Spirit until we come out of putting ourselves on the bench. God is telling us to get in the game!
SET YOUR MIND ON THE THINGS OF THE SPIRIT.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. (Romans 8:5)
We set our minds through our eyes. The health of our bodies is determined by what we look at (behold). We must pay attention to our spiritual diet—what we consume in our inner life. It is not enough to only resist “bad” things. We must actively pursue the things of God. We can abstain from this world all day, but we are still malnourished spiritually unless we feed ourselves with truth. Psalm 1 instructs us to meditate on God’s word day and night. There is a tenacity required to consume the Word of God. It is a lifestyle not a duty.
BE LED BY THE THINGS OF THE SPIRIT.
For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Romans 8:13-14)
This means doing what the Bible says. The only way to mature as a disciple is through literal obedience. When we fill our minds with God’s Word, we can’t help but be led by those things. Our appetites will begin to change when the diet of our inner life changes. Suddenly, all those delicacies we crave won’t satisfy like they used to. This is a sign the Holy Spirit is changing us from the inside out!
ONE THING
The revelation of Jesus awaits the humble. Although following Jesus doesn’t make life easier, we get to do the impossible with Him. We are no longer under the law of sin and death, but by the blood of Jesus are set free from all burdensome commands. All we have left is the gracious call of Christ to come upon the waters. We must lock eyes with the One filled with love and rise to the standard of wholehearted obedience. That is the only way to follow Him—wholly.
The One Thing the rich man lacked wasn’t having too many possessions. It was Jesus.
REFERENCES:
Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer