The Rich Man

I've been reading a book lately called "The Irresistible Revolution" By a guy named Shawn Claiborne. I won't go into the details of the book, but I'm about halfway through and would recommend reading it. In one of the chapters the author recounts the story of the rich young ruler and the interactions that he had with Jesus of Nazareth. It's something that I've been pondering for a couple weeks. Many of you probably know the story, so I'm sure you recall that during this dialogue the young ruler asks what he must do to be saved. (check it out in Matt. 19, Mark 10 and Luke 18) Jesus' reply goes something like "sell everything and give it to the poor and your treasures will be in heaven," then Jesus gives this wealthy young man an invitation: " After you have done that, come and follow me"
Now, for some this would have been the opportunity of a lifetime. "Follow me." If I remember correctly there were some fishermen who received the same invitation and they straight up dropped their nets and never looked back... These fishermen had nothing, and I would venture to guess that they knew it. So what was the response of the rich young ruler who had it all, except eternal life?
Eugene Peterson puts it this way in his translation, The Message: "The man's face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go." (Mark 10:22) The chapter continues on with a Jesus telling his disciples that it is very difficult for the rich to get to heaven. But there's one more thing that I find interesting. If you read the passage, you'll notice that Jesus didn't run after the rich young man. He didn't chase him down and say, "Well, I was just kidding about that sell everything bit. If you just sell half you'll be fine." and he also didn't say anything like, "Write out a check for 10% of your monthly income and I'll put in a good word with the Big Guy."

Jesus lets the Rich man walk away... And he does.

Hard words to swallow for those of us (yes, myself included) who would rather spend our time, money, energy, relationships (etc. etc.) how we want. The more I think about it, though, the more It makes sense. Jesus wants all of me. Jesus doesn't just want my Sundays. He doesn't just want a check. Jesus doesn't just want me to not do bad things...
JESUS WANTS ME. Me, in all of my sin, shame, imperfection, brokenness, and pride. He wants my every waking, sleeping and breathing moment. Jesus wants an admiring daughter, a faithful bride, and a devoted lover. He wants Me. He wants You. Everyone!! And in all of his longing to call us his own, he will still let us make the decision.

"Yes," said Jesus, "and you won't regret it... (Luke 18:29 The Message)