Mark 10:22,24-26 (NJKV) But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions… And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?”
In this passage, Jesus was dealing with the idolatry in the heart of the rich young ruler. This young man had both power and money. He was a “mover and shaker” of his time, a man of affluence and influence.
The eye of a needle here is referring to a narrow passageway, and a camel carrying goods had to have the goods unloaded in order to pass through it. Likewise, for a person to follow God wholeheartedly, there will be some strongholds in our lives that need to be given up. They could be idol-worshipping, philosophy, power, sex, or in this case, money. The thing though is that we won’t know how much a stronghold money has on us until we need to let go of it, and this is exactly how this young ruler felt when he was asked to give it all up and follow the Lord wholeheartedly. The riches that he had was the security that he held onto dearly. It was a master in his life, and he had to lay it down and not let it be a god to him.
The young man was sad at Jesus’ Word because he couldn’t give up the idol in his life, and he went away sorrowful because he couldn’t part with his wealth and power. Similarly, we also have emotions to deal with regardless of how successful we are. We will have regrets when we make the wrong decision, or when we are unable to make the right decision even when we know it is right, critical and necessary. In the case of the rich young ruler, the right, critical and necessary decision was to come before God in childlike faith to accept His way for salvation.
Unfortunately, there will be times when it is too late to regret just like the rich man who was suffering in Hades and cried out to Abraham for help in warning his brothers on earth not to make the same mistake (Luke 16:19-31). While we are still able to right the wrong when we are on earth now, let’s not miss the chance to do so!
Sermon Series: Are You Young and Rich?
你需要卸下什么
马可福音10:22,24-26他听见这话，脸上就变了色，忧忧愁愁地走了，因为他的产业很多…门徒希奇他的话。耶稣又对他们说：“小子，倚靠钱财的人进神的国是何等地难哪。骆驼穿过针的眼，比财主进神的国还容易呢。” 门徒就分外希奇，对祂说：“这样，谁能得救呢？”
在这段经文中，耶稣处理的是这位年轻的财主心中的偶像崇拜。这个年轻人有权又有钱。他是他那个时代举足轻重的人物，一个富裕且有影响力的人。
这里的“针眼”指的是狭窄的通道，载货的骆驼必须卸下货物才能通过这条通道。同样，一个人若要全心全意地跟随神，生命中必有一些坚固的营垒需要放弃。它们可以是任何形式：偶像崇拜、哲学、权力、性，或者此处说的金钱。然而，不到放手那一刻，我们不会知道钱财这个营垒把我们抓的有多紧，当这位年轻的财主被要求放弃一切财产全心跟随主的时候，这正是他内心的感觉。他的安全感紧紧地绑定在他的财富上。财富成了他生命的主宰，他必须放下它，不让其成为自己的神。
耶稣的话让这年轻人很难过，因为他无法放弃他生命中的偶像，他悲伤地离开了，因为他不能割舍他的财富和权力。同样，不管我们有多成功，我们都要处理情绪。当我们作出错误的决定，或者明明知道什么是对的却无法作出正确的、关键的和必要的决定时，我们会悔不当初。 就这位年轻的财主而言，那正确、关键和必要的决定就是带着孩童般的信心来到神面前，接受祂的救恩之道。
不幸的是，就像那个在阴间受苦的富人向亚伯拉罕求助去警告他在地上的弟兄不要重蹈他的覆辙一样 (路加福音16:19-31)，有些时候后悔已经太迟了。趁着我们现在还活在世上，千万千万要在还来得及的时候改正错误！
讲章系列: 你年轻并富有吗?