Giving up everything...
I was thinking to myself this morning about how I often get attached to things. At times it's been my car, my computer, even my friends and my way of life. I was wondering if it was bad to be attached like that. At the time I decided that it wasn't, as long as you don't get obsessed. Because it would be ridiculous, after all, to expect everyone who becomes a Christian to give up all they have and become an ascetic or a monk or something.
But later on I started thinking more.
When Jesus sent out the twelve Apostles, he tells them this: "If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it." [1]
Later, a rich man comes to Jesus and asks, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" To make a long story short, Jesus' reply is: "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." The rich man went away sad, because he had many possessions. [2]
Paul, in his letter to the Roman Christians, says, What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. [3]
So according to Jesus, we have to be willing to leave our families and our possissions to follow him. Paul writes that in becoming Christians, we die to our old way of life. When you're dead, you don't care a lot about your stuff. But that's not the end, because we are also resurrected, and our new lives are all about Jesus.
It's made fairly clear in those passages and others that in becoming a Christian, you give up everything.
In my last post I talked about how God loves us so much that he wants to be united with us the same way that a man and a woman are united in marriage. After recounting the story of Eve's creation, the author of Genesis says that "a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife...,"[4] which sounds a lot like what Jesus was saying about following him.
In what may be the most well known lines of any play ever, Juliet says to Romeo: O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I'll no longer be a Capulet. [5]
Here Juliet offers to give up her family name, and along with it everything she owns, in order to be with Romeo. Romeo offers the same later in this scene.
So on one hand it sounds incredibly hard to give up everything you have in order to follow Christ. But when you look at it, it's one of the most beautiful things ever.
[1] Matthew 10:37-39
[2] Matthew 19:16-22
[3] Romans 6:1-7
[4] Genesis 2:24
[5] Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2
note: Read Donald Miller's Searching For God Knows What for a very awesome explanation of the parallels between Romeo and Juliet and the relationship between God and humanity.
But later on I started thinking more.
When Jesus sent out the twelve Apostles, he tells them this: "If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it." [1]
Later, a rich man comes to Jesus and asks, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" To make a long story short, Jesus' reply is: "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." The rich man went away sad, because he had many possessions. [2]
Paul, in his letter to the Roman Christians, says, What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. [3]
So according to Jesus, we have to be willing to leave our families and our possissions to follow him. Paul writes that in becoming Christians, we die to our old way of life. When you're dead, you don't care a lot about your stuff. But that's not the end, because we are also resurrected, and our new lives are all about Jesus.
It's made fairly clear in those passages and others that in becoming a Christian, you give up everything.
In my last post I talked about how God loves us so much that he wants to be united with us the same way that a man and a woman are united in marriage. After recounting the story of Eve's creation, the author of Genesis says that "a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife...,"[4] which sounds a lot like what Jesus was saying about following him.
In what may be the most well known lines of any play ever, Juliet says to Romeo: O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I'll no longer be a Capulet. [5]
Here Juliet offers to give up her family name, and along with it everything she owns, in order to be with Romeo. Romeo offers the same later in this scene.
So on one hand it sounds incredibly hard to give up everything you have in order to follow Christ. But when you look at it, it's one of the most beautiful things ever.
[1] Matthew 10:37-39
[2] Matthew 19:16-22
[3] Romans 6:1-7
[4] Genesis 2:24
[5] Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2
note: Read Donald Miller's Searching For God Knows What for a very awesome explanation of the parallels between Romeo and Juliet and the relationship between God and humanity.