Have you ever heard the Master say something very difficult to you?
If you haven’t, I question whether you have ever heard Him say anything
at all. Jesus says a tremendous amount to us that we listen to, but do
not actually hear. And once we do hear Him, His words are harsh and
unyielding.
Jesus did not show the least concern that this rich young ruler
should do what He told him, nor did Jesus make any attempt to keep this
man with Him. He simply said to him, “Sell all that you have . . . and
come, follow Me.” Our Lord never pleaded with him; He never tried to
lure him— He simply spoke the strictest words that human ears have ever
heard, and then left him alone.
Have I ever heard Jesus say something difficult and unyielding to me?
Has He said something personally to me to which I have deliberately
listened— not something I can explain for the sake of others, but
something I have heard Him say directly to me? This man understood what
Jesus said. He heard it clearly, realizing the full impact of its
meaning, and it broke his heart. He did not go away as a defiant person,
but as one who was sorrowful and discouraged. He had come to Jesus on
fire with zeal and determination, but the words of Jesus simply froze
him. Instead of producing enthusiastic devotion to Jesus, they produced
heartbreaking discouragement. And Jesus did not go after him, but let
him go. Our Lord knows perfectly well that once His word is truly heard,
it will bear fruit sooner or later. What is so terrible is that some of
us prevent His words from bearing fruit in our present life. I wonder
what we will say when we finally make up our minds to be devoted to Him
on that particular point? One thing is certain— He will never throw our
past failures back in our faces.
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