This week I have had this one thought on my mind and came from this movie we watched last Wednesday.  The movie is called, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone , I talked about it earlier this week when I talked about the rich young man that walked away from Jesus. In the movie, the actor playing Jesus said something like, “please don’t go…” and I know that is not in the text, but it touched my heart.

That short line in the script made me think about all those friends I knew that seemed to turn and walk away unwilling to give up that one thing they thought was more important to them.  After all, hey have plenty of time to get right with God. They were doing just fine.

I was pondering all these things this morning and I read the devotional for today in, My Utmost for His Highest: Quality Paperback Edition , By Oswald Chambers.  It was about asking and receiving or not receiving.

“Then What’s Next to Do”

I found this one section that struck me and it kind of got my thoughts kick started down this path this morning.

“Everyone who asks receives….” This does not mean that you will not get if you do not ask, but it means that until you come to the point of asking, you will not receive from God (see Matthew 5:45). To be able to receive means that you have to come into the relationship of a child of God, and then you comprehend and appreciate mentally, morally, and with spiritual understanding, that these things come from God.

This is such a simple truth.  It is like the sun shines on us in the daytime even if it is cloudy and we cannot see it.  We know it is there, but do we realize all that we gain from the sun.

Matthew 5:45

Matthew 5:45 is in the middle of the instruction by Christ Jesus to love your enemies.  I have read it to many times to count.  But this morning I took it a bit more to heart.

Matthew 5:45 (ESV) ⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

I looked at that verse and read over it several times.  It took a while to sink in really, but I realized everything that comes to everyone on this planet we call earth comes from God.  The difference from the believer and the unbeliever is the believer knows that all of it comes from God and the non-believer thinks it comes from his effort or because they have been victimized somehow.

“Then What’s Next to Do” Revisited

I reread Chamber’s devotional. 

“Everyone who asks receives….” This does not mean that you will not get if you do not ask, but it means that until you come to the point of asking, you will not receive from God (see Matthew 5:45). To be able to receive means that you have to come into the relationship of a child of God, and then you comprehend and appreciate mentally, morally, and with spiritual understanding, that these things come from God.

I spent some time thinking about that last sentence and the whole thing about comprehending and appreciating mentally, morally and with spiritual understanding and I thought of the parables in Matthew about Heaven.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

I started with this parable of the hidden treasure and this morning it made more sense than before.  I cannot explain why.

Matthew 13:44 (ESV) The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Than the parable of the pearl.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

Matthew 13:45-46 (ESV) The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, ⁴⁶ who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

We search for this thing that fills the emptiness in our hearts and when we find the only thing that will fill it completely, Jesus Christ, we will give up everything to have him.  I understand why Jesus used two examples; I think he could have used a hundred, because there is nothing to compare to life with God.  It is beyond our ability to grasp fully.

Mark 10:21-23

I think of the two parables and it leads me back to Mark 10:21-23 when Jesus answers the young man and then turns to his disciples.

²¹ And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ²² Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

²³ And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”

I do not know.  It just may be me, but I feel a sadness in Jesus’ voice when he says all this.  He loves this young man, but he knows his heart, and as he is telling him this he knows how he is going to respond, and I think of these two parables and just want to say, “please, don’t go.  You do not know what Jesus has for you… please.”

Thoughts

My heart sometimes aches because I wish that I could find the words that would convince everyone of the truth of God’s Word.  I would like to shake it into to them.

But then I look at what Jesus did with the wealthy young man.  Who knows how long that young man had been following Jesus.  Who knows how much he had heard.  He had heard enough that he felt Jesus had the answer he needed, but it was not what it wasn’t what he wanted to here.

See to do that would have meant he would have really had to trust and believe that Jesus was who he said He was.

Prayer

Father, thank you for your guiding light.  Thank you for your hope and understanding.  I pray Lord that you might fill my heart with love and patience and the words to share Your Word and Your message as you would have me do, in love and with patience.

In Jesus name I pray, Amen.