Chains

Chains -What holds you down, what binds you?What in your life holds the most value? What are the chains that bind you? In Matthew 19:16-30, a rich young man questioned Christ regarding, what good thing he must do to get eternal life. Christ answered that he should obey the commandments. Christ told him to sell all his possessions and give to the poor and then he would have treasure in heaven. "When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Matthew 19:22.

The reason the young man walked away sad was that his treasure, that which he valued in life, was earthly in nature. These were the chains that kept him from following Christ. Our earthly treasures don't have to be just wealth. They could be our careers, our hobbies, our homes and even our families. In the story of the rich young man, Peter asked Jesus, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?" Jesus tells him "everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life."

If the Bible states that "the earth is the Lord's and everything in it (Psalm 24:1-22), then why do we serve the created and not the Creator? In the book "Revolution in Generosity," Dr. Craig L. Blomberg states in the section "God and Money: A Biblical Theology of Possessions, "that for every New Testament text that explicitly points to the goodness of wealth, four or five highlight the ways that 'mammon' (material possessions as an object of our allegiance or even worship) seduces believers to sin or accounts for why unbelievers remain outside the fold." He gives as examples:

1. The seed that falls among the thorns, represents those who "hear the word...but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful" (Mark 4:18 -19).

2. The parable of the rich fool describes one who is not rich towards God (Luke 12:16-21).

3. The rich man and Lazarus, depicts a man who feasts every day while refusing to give even the crumbs from his table to the dying, crippled beggar on his doorstep (Luke 16:19-31).

Christ clearly gives us examples of how we can fall into sin, by putting our treasure in our possessions. What then do we boast in today? Have we looked at what we have in eternal riches that has been freely given to us through Christ and His sacrifice? The hymn written by Isaac Watts, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" wonderfully sums this up. The last verse states, "His love is so amazing, so divine, that it demands our soul, our life, our all". Nothing less should be expected from those that have come to realize love so deep!

"When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.""Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ my God: all the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood.""See, from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down: did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?""Were the whole realm of nature mine that were a present far too small; love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."

Quote: "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose." Jim Elliot - Bernie Bostwick is Vice President of Ambassador Advisors

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 23; Song of Solomon 1-3; Galatians 2

Great Quote: The Gospel is open to all; the most respectable sinner has no more claim on it than the worst. -- Martyn Lloyd-Jones