Our paragraph topic is: (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 12.
What is wanting, what is missing in my life, were the questions that lingered in the mind of the rich young man who sought Christ. He sought something. He hungered for something that nothing up to now had satisfied. He was young. He was mindful of all that transpired in his lifetime and he wanted to understand all. The word had come to him and stirred a longing within him. He had heard of the new teachings of Christ and felt that this was what he wanted. So he sought the teacher, he sought Christ to get answers to the longing that was calling deep within him.
What he found were things that he already knew. What he heard were commandments that he most likely already practiced. But these were not enough to satisfy the hunger within. These did not touch the surface when it came to the desire to be more, to do more, to feel complete within. Christ gave him the basics. He gave him the foundation upon which to build an entrance into the kingdom. But the young man wanted more. So Christ gave him more tasks to do, more to accomplish, he gave him an assignment that would open the heart, unburden the mind, and release the longing spirit within. Jesus said to him, "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast."
If thou wilt be perfect, if thou wilt fill thy soul, if thou wilt desire to have more, then do this is what Christ told him, sell what thou hast. Get rid of all that possesses thee. Unburden thy body so that you can free the spirit within you. Did he have the will to be perfect? Did the young have the desire to fulfill the passion that was burning within him? Do we today have the desire to strive to be perfect in the eyes of God even though we are imperfect beings?
This young man followed all the requirements of his faith, just as we do today. We go to church regularly. We give out tithes as required. On occasion we give to the poor. We honor or fathers and mothers. We try not to lie, cheat, or steal. We try to follow the commandments as best we can. If we seek more, we must fight the status quo of our times. We must be different. We must dress differently, talk differently, live differently which will make us stand out, make us unpopular. Even if we seek to be more among those that are our peers we stand the risk of alienating ourselves from those that we can call friends. We become like religious geeks in our own group.
Yet what do we seek? What did the young man seek? He was rich. He was independent. He was in a class all his own for there were very few who had the same wealth. And Christ told him to sell all that he had. He told him, if thou wilt be perfect then sell what he had. Get rid of that which possesses thee. And he tells us the same today. Rid yourself of those things that hold thee. Separate yourself from that which will control you, possess you, lend sway over you. For these are the things that will prevent you from achieving your goals in Christ.
Christ wants us to be free. He wants us to open our minds and our hearts to all that he has to offer. He wants us to know that what is in the world is not of him and what is of Christ is not in the world but in the Father. So the focus must be on God and not on the riches of the world. For what the Father has to give cannot be found in the world. What the Father offers is everlasting and not fleeting. What the Father gives is true and not fake.
So to seek to fill the desires of the soul, the longing of the spirit, one must relinquish that which is in the world. One must empty oneself of that which we see in the world and seek that which is in the spirit. For it is through the spirit and by the spirit and with the spirit that one comes to know and understand the truth of who you are in Christ. And through this knowledge and wisdom in Christ on finds the treasures of the heart, one finds the unspeakable peace that only the spirit can bring. And through this knowledge and wisdom one comes to know the eternal love of our Father who gave us life eternal. Come! Empty thyself and find the treasure that is waiting for you. Sell all that thy hast and buy Christ.
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.
What is wanting, what is missing in my life, were the questions that lingered in the mind of the rich young man who sought Christ. He sought something. He hungered for something that nothing up to now had satisfied. He was young. He was mindful of all that transpired in his lifetime and he wanted to understand all. The word had come to him and stirred a longing within him. He had heard of the new teachings of Christ and felt that this was what he wanted. So he sought the teacher, he sought Christ to get answers to the longing that was calling deep within him.
What he found were things that he already knew. What he heard were commandments that he most likely already practiced. But these were not enough to satisfy the hunger within. These did not touch the surface when it came to the desire to be more, to do more, to feel complete within. Christ gave him the basics. He gave him the foundation upon which to build an entrance into the kingdom. But the young man wanted more. So Christ gave him more tasks to do, more to accomplish, he gave him an assignment that would open the heart, unburden the mind, and release the longing spirit within. Jesus said to him, "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast."
If thou wilt be perfect, if thou wilt fill thy soul, if thou wilt desire to have more, then do this is what Christ told him, sell what thou hast. Get rid of all that possesses thee. Unburden thy body so that you can free the spirit within you. Did he have the will to be perfect? Did the young have the desire to fulfill the passion that was burning within him? Do we today have the desire to strive to be perfect in the eyes of God even though we are imperfect beings?
This young man followed all the requirements of his faith, just as we do today. We go to church regularly. We give out tithes as required. On occasion we give to the poor. We honor or fathers and mothers. We try not to lie, cheat, or steal. We try to follow the commandments as best we can. If we seek more, we must fight the status quo of our times. We must be different. We must dress differently, talk differently, live differently which will make us stand out, make us unpopular. Even if we seek to be more among those that are our peers we stand the risk of alienating ourselves from those that we can call friends. We become like religious geeks in our own group.
Yet what do we seek? What did the young man seek? He was rich. He was independent. He was in a class all his own for there were very few who had the same wealth. And Christ told him to sell all that he had. He told him, if thou wilt be perfect then sell what he had. Get rid of that which possesses thee. And he tells us the same today. Rid yourself of those things that hold thee. Separate yourself from that which will control you, possess you, lend sway over you. For these are the things that will prevent you from achieving your goals in Christ.
Christ wants us to be free. He wants us to open our minds and our hearts to all that he has to offer. He wants us to know that what is in the world is not of him and what is of Christ is not in the world but in the Father. So the focus must be on God and not on the riches of the world. For what the Father has to give cannot be found in the world. What the Father offers is everlasting and not fleeting. What the Father gives is true and not fake.
So to seek to fill the desires of the soul, the longing of the spirit, one must relinquish that which is in the world. One must empty oneself of that which we see in the world and seek that which is in the spirit. For it is through the spirit and by the spirit and with the spirit that one comes to know and understand the truth of who you are in Christ. And through this knowledge and wisdom in Christ on finds the treasures of the heart, one finds the unspeakable peace that only the spirit can bring. And through this knowledge and wisdom one comes to know the eternal love of our Father who gave us life eternal. Come! Empty thyself and find the treasure that is waiting for you. Sell all that thy hast and buy Christ.
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.
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