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Then Jesus beholding him loved him and said unto him, One thing thou
lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, give to the poor, and
thou shalt have treasure in heaven: And come take up thy
cross, and follow me. Mark 10:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect....... Matt 19:21 To say and do what Jesus said and did, to desire to be like Christ, to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect, to be perfect as Jesus is perfect, this is true Christianity. This is truly what it means to be church. Yet so few of us have the vision and heart God desires us to have. In this passage above, Jesus makes a connection between being perfect, having no lack, having a perfect heart, a perfect intention to be as the Master and taking up the cross. In fact, to be like Jesus is to take up the cross. What exactly, does this mean? To be like Jesus is to be Charismatic: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor: he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to be captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Luke 4:18-19 To be like Jesus is to gather a following. It is to have a reputation. It is to be well known and to make an impression. People who are like Jesus may not want to bring attention to themselves, but invariably, it happens anyway. Yet this reaction is not always positive. But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. Romans 10:19 Because "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise" 1Cor.1:27, it provokes people to jealousy. It so provoked the people of Israel, that they crucified our Lord and Savior. To see the weak things of the world prosper and be blessed, to see the foolish confound the wise, to see the unlearned and ignorant convert the world, brings jealousy to the forefront and anger in the winds. If you desire to be perfect, to be like Jesus, to have a heart pleasing to God, then it will bring attention to your life that if you are humble of heart you really do not want. On the one hand, people will want to surround you, they will want you to come and preach and teach, to go here and there, lay hands on the sick, so much so that you will need to pray at night because the day will have so many demands. Yet on the other hand, others will be provoked to vindictive jealousy. They will hate and despise you. They will curse you and say all manner of evil against you because of your likeness to Jesus. "Blessed are ye, when men revile you and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely." Matt. 5:11Why? because if they did it to Jesus, they will do it to you as well. The rich ruler had the holy desire to be like Jesus. Jesus seeing him loved him and told him the condition to be like Jesus. First, have a perfect heart and giving all you have to the poor, then taking up the cross and following him. To have the gospel desire to be perfect, complete, without lack, full of charity and selflessness has a price. The price is a life full of demands and a life of persecution. The reward: eternal life, not singularly but collectively, a community in heaven. Taking up the Cross: What it is not Taking up the cross is not to suffer from sin, poverty, or disease. There is no record in scripture of Jesus ever suffering any of those maladies. It is inconsistent with a loving God to inflict any of the afflictions on the righteous. The only source for those sufferings is the devil. When the devil tries to inflict a soul with sin, sickness, or poverty, it is our duty to rebuke and reject them. Taking up the Cross: What it is Jesus took up his cross every day of his ministry. For him, taking up his cross, amounted to making his soul and flesh obey his spirit. Whether it was fasting in the desert, staying up all night in prayer, or having his face set on the Father and not on the world or the needs of the people, Jesus was obedient to the heavenly vision. He kept his eyes fixed on fulfilling the will of his Father. For us to take up our cross, we, like Jesus, must keep our body under and bring it into subjection (1Cor9:27), and that is costly. It is to suffer as Jesus suffered. It is to suffer as any who have heard the call and chose the better part. If thou wilt be perfect, sell what you have, give to the poor, and come take up your cross....not an easy task but one full of rewards. Amen |