GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 10:23
Everything
To take our first airplane flight to Oklahoma City in 1967, Alice and I went to Lambert International Airport in St. Louis. At the check-in counter, a young man moved forward, pushing five huge boxes. He looked young enough to be a college student, likely on his way home with all his possessions. In the ’60s, airlines allowed passengers to carry large amounts of baggage.
A more recent story tells of a man who arrived at an airport with five enormous suitcases, carry-on bags stacked high, their pockets bulging. When he reached security, he was told, “You can’t go through like that.” He protested, “But these are my clothes, my tools, my valuables—everything I need,” he protested. The agent replied, “You don’t need them here.”
There’s a story about a group of mountain climbers facing an approaching storm. They climbed toward a refuge where they would be safe. One climber insisted on carrying unnecessary gear—books, trophies, keepsakes. As the path steepened, he fell behind, weighed down by the load of his pack. Falling farther behind, he finally sat down, exhausted and angry.
A wealthy, socially prominent young man came to Jesus asking what he needed to do to “inherit” eternal life. He claimed that he had been honest and had observed all the laws he had been taught. Jesus told him there was one thing he still needed to do: dispose of all the possessions he had worked diligently to acquire, relinquish his social status, and follow him. Stunned, he walked away. Saddened by the young man’s decision, Mark recorded, “And looking around, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘How difficult it is for those having riches to enter the kingdom of God.’” (Mark 10:23)
Jesus was not advocating a doctrine of poverty, but one of an unhindered relationship. Jesus’ observation was not merely a matter of having wealth, for a poor person can also be attached to possessions. The hindrance lies in anything that stands between a person and wholehearted commitment to the Father.
There is a story about an auction where people bid on land, art, and jewelry. The auctioneer announced the final item: “Entrance into eternal life.” The wealthy bid confidently—until the price reached “Everything.”
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