Message: For me, Mark 10 was a challenge to examine my desires and motives to see what is really driving my heart. Just because I’m not struggling in one area of surrender doesn’t mean there aren’t other areas lurking. The rich young ruler had an encounter with Jesus and I couldn’t help but noticed that Jesus “loved him” as he told him what he lacked. Shortly after this encounter I could see the self-justification rise up in Peter as he told Jesus “we have left everything and followed you.” In other words, we’re not like this guy who just walked away sad. Jesus acknowledged Peter and even affirmed him by saying “ I assure you, there is no one who has left houses, brothers or sisters, mother or father, children or fields because of Me and the gospel who will not receive 100 more…” But once Jesus started laying out the plan and letting them know that he would be handed over to the chief priests and scribes to be condemned to death it seemed to go completely unnoticed. He gave detail about the things he would suffer. The scripture doesn’t tell us whether there were any responses or how much time passed but the very next thing we read is that James and John approached Jesus to ask for positions of honor. The other disciples became indignant towards them but none of them seemed to understand the ignorance of their desire for honor. To be honored with Jesus meant to suffer like Jesus and they had just heard a taste of what that suffering would be like. So even if the rest of them envied the very idea of James and John requesting positions of honor, wouldn’t the understanding that they would suffer harshly for it be enough to crush that jealousy?
Promise: Mark 10:29 “ I assure you, there is no one who has left houses, brothers or sisters, mother or father, children or fields because of ME and the gospel who will not receive 100 more…”
Command: Surrender and follow Jesus. This means we give up possessions, ideas, positions and desires that compete for our love and obedience to serve Jesus.
Warning: This is completely a choice so on any given day we could easily be the rich young ruler who walked away sad because we would rather substitute our surrender with a checklist of shallow religious rules than fully surrender. Or we could be like James and John coming from a place of pride and ignorance by desiring a place of honor but not understanding the price or the character required for that kind of honor.
Application: I saw myself in both scenarios, but I also saw myself in Peter as he went into to self-justification mode, and even as the other disciples who felt indignant toward James and John for what they ignorantly desired. Lord, please search my heart and shine a light on the areas where I am either failing to fully surrender, or where I am looking at others with resentment while justifying myself. Expose these things in my heart as they come up and help me to remember that this is a daily process.