The rich young ruler walked away after Jesus told him to sell everything and give it away to the poor. He couldn't do it. Jesus said, you know...a camel can get through the"eye of a needle" easier than a rich person can get into the kingdom of heaven. Peter wants to know, if that is the case, then how can anyone be saved? Jesus tells him right up front...in your own strength, you can't...but with God "all things are possible."
Barker adds, "Jesus was turning upside-down the notion of the day that 'blessing equals wealth.' This was even more explicit in Jesus's sermon on the plain, where he said, "Blessed are you who are poor...but woe to you who are rich" (Luke 6:20, 24). The rich are not good enough, and the poor are not good enough; but the poor are generally under no illusions about their situation." (emphasis mine)
What is it that I'm not willing to give up? Barker delves into a brief comparison of the rich young ruler to Peter, one of the original 12 disciples of Jesus. When Jesus was at His lowest, Peter denied even knowing his best friend three times...yet he went on to become the founder of the new church movement that began after the death and resurrection of the Messiah. Peter was just a simple fisherman, but it was the only life he knew. Barker states, "Sure, he didn't really have that much to lose compared with the rich young ruler. Yet, he was giving up something real and something that he knew. In the end, it was a small price to pay to help change the world and have an eternal impact."
These few sentences speak very loudly into my life right now. I don't have a lot of "stuff" to lose, but I have my way of life, my comfort, my "familiar" that could be taken from me in a heartbeat. And that's what's scaring the living daylights out of me.
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