the rich man

I've been wrestling with myself lately. This summer I have decided to actually become someone that follows Christ. I don't want to be just another church-goer anymore; instead I want to be someone that really is Jesus light to the world. But I have come to realize that being a true follower is harder than I ever could have thought.

I have been wrestling with what it might look like to become a true follower. One of my best friends has been a great example to me of what this might look like. She lives in Waterloo and she and those she lives with decided to begin to live like the community in the book of Acts; a real community. They share everything, from food to money to clothes. None of them have jobs and yet somehow they manage to offer and prayer and worship breakfast every morning. They feed their community of friends breakfast every morning even though they have no incomes with which to pay for this. Somehow, the funds just come in. They also bless groups in their community by making them occasional meals. I find it hard to devote the first 10% of my income to God and here is a community that gives more than 100% of their income to God (considering they have no income, this is a pretty big deal). Wow. I can't even believe that this type of community actually exists within my own group of friends. It amazes me every time I think about it*.

Shane Claiborne of The Simple Way (www.thesimpleway.org) has also been challenging me. Not personally, but through his book The Irresistible Revolution. He has challenged me to think seriously about my life and how I live it. What does it actually mean to be a follower of Christ? To love those Christ loved, to live like Christ lived, and to follow His commands. One command I have especially been wrestling with is when in the gospels Jesus tells the rich man to sell all he has and give it to the poor, for then he will have treasure in heaven**. Jesus says that it will be difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God, more difficult than it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. I don’t know about you, but I think that the likelihood of a camel passing through the eye of a needle is not so likely; the odds really aren’t looking good for the camel. So, basically Jesus is saying that this is impossible. But the Bible also says that nothing is impossible with God. And so I am wrestling with what it means to be a wealthy Christian, and how I can be a better steward of my money. Part of this is the conviction that maybe I too, like the rich man in that story, need to sell my things and give the money to the poor. So I have been thinking about this... a lot... and I think the time has come for me to have a garage sale.


*Side note here: My house just shook. Literally, shook! My dad came out of his office wondering what it was. I thought he was doing work in the bathroom or something, but no, our house totally just shook. A mini earthquake kind of shake... crraaaazzzyyyy!!!

**Matt. 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-30; Luke 18:18-30.