Jesus, Rich in Compassion

As he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him,"...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)

Neatly dressed, self-possessed, with an intelligent face and a purposeful stride--this is how I picture the man in this passage, who is referred to in the other gospels as the rich, young ruler. I wonder what was going through his mind as he wove his way through the crowds of Jesus' followers toward the Teacher himself. Did he glance discreetly at the disciples' rough robes and travel-worn sandals? Did he compare them with his own fine clothes and the glitter of the rings on his fingers? When he peered over his shoulder to make sure that his servants were still waiting with his camels, did he notice that none of these people had either servants or camels?

Whatever his impressions of Jesus' followers, the rich, young ruler managed to find Jesus and respectfully pose the question that would define him in Scripture. "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus starts talking to him about the law, and the rich young ruler shakes his head, unsatisfied with this answer. No, I've already tried that, he tells Jesus, wanting a different solution. So, Jesus offers this man a way out from under the law--sell everything you own and follow me, he says. The young man's face falls. This wasn't the answer he was looking for. Slowly, he turns and walks away.

The rich, young ruler stands out to me among the multitudes who came to see Jesus. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he understood that the law was not able to produce life in his soul. Sadly though, he still had the idea that righteousness could be obtained through the right system. So when he asks Jesus how he can have eternal life, I think he's not so much looking to be saved as he is searching for a better set of rules. When Jesus offers a new relationship governed by one rule--make Me your treasure--the man walks away disappointed.

Mark says it was Jesus' love for the rich, young ruler that moved him to offer such a challenging invitation. In his great compassion for us, Jesus will identify the thing that keeps us from following him and demand we give it up. Whatever it is, he will ask us to love him more than we love that.

Anger Management

"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. For the anger of man does not bring about the righteousness of God. Therefore, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."

Sin is frustrating. Frankly, it often makes me angry--angry with myself and angry with others. I can testify, though, that James' evaluation in the verses above is accurate: anger does not produce righteousness, not in me and not in others. Thankfully, God has given us some instructions in the verses above about how we can relate to one another in a way that shuts down anger and promotes righteousness, and how we can fight the inner battle of self-loathing and instead respond to the Spirit.

First, how can we respond to each other in a way that dispels anger and promotes righteousness? In typically practical terms, James says we can be eager to listen with understanding ("be quick to hear"), have a humble hesitancy to voice our own opinion ("be slow to speak"), and determine that we will not be easily provoked ("be slow to anger"). It's pretty simple advice, but in the heat of an argument, things can look complicated. My mind swirls with accusations and comebacks and "Oh no, you didn't!"s. I need simple.

What about when we are angry with ourselves? Sometimes I think my conscience has been replaced by the world's worst soccer coach. He berates me for all my mistakes, pointing each one out and telling me that I must be a fool, an idiot, an ingrate to keep messing this stuff up. But you know what? After one of those internal tirades, I never find myself resting in God's steadfast love or considering the ransom he paid for my sin. Do you know why? Because self-loathing is not repentance, and therefore, won't help us receive grace. Usually, this kind of anger is pride. I'm angry because I think I should have performed better than I did (the inner soccer coach takes over here), and I reproach myself out of pride.

So if I can't change my heart by reproaching myself, what am I supposed to do? Heaven knows I don't want to stay the way I am! James says first to "put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness;" simply, to stop sinning. Whatever it is, quit doing it. Then we are to "receive with meekness the implanted word." The Greek word translated as meekness is an interesting one. It means to be reined in, as in the way one would use the reins to direct a horse. It doesn't have anything to do with weakness, but with being controlled for a purpose. James says to receive from God as one being reined in, for the purpose of righteousness. And what are we to receive? "The implanted word, which is able to save your souls." I think this implanted word is the Holy Spirit, the ever-present counselor who plants God's words in our hearts to convict and encourage us. We can fire the angry soccer coach and rely on the Spirit to help us see our sin and turn from it.