The Outside of The Cup
(5 minutes)
As Jesus started on his way, a man came running up to him. Kneeling down in front of him, he cried out, "Good Teacher, what one thing am I required to do to gain eternal life?" Jesus responded, "Why do you call me good? Only God is truly good. You already know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give a false testimony, do not cheat, and honor your father and mother.'" The man said to Jesus, "Teacher, I have carefully obeyed these laws since my youth." Jesus fixed his gaze upon the man, with tender love, and said to him, "Yet there is still one thing in you lacking. Go, sell all that you have and give the money to the poor. Then all of your treasure will be in heaven. After you've done this, come back and walk with me." Completely shocked by Jesus' answer, he turned and walked away very sad, for he was extremely rich. (Mark 10:17-22)
Religion can only wash the outside of the cup.
The rich, young ruler asks Jesus what the one thing is that he's required to do to gain eternal life. So Jesus lists the commandments that religion was most familiar with: do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give a false testimony, do not cheat, and honor your father and mother. Notice that all of these commandments are external. They all deal with the outside of a person. And the rich, young ruler managed to carefully obey these commandments since his youth. He didn't have a problem with cleaning the outside of the cup. Religion gave him a to-do list, and with a little self-effort he was able to clean up his external life, the life that people could see.
But Jesus fixes his gaze upon the man, with tender love and compassion, and says to him, "Yet there is still one thing IN YOU lacking." Religion can clean the outside of our lives, but what about the inside? What about the heart? The sophisticated trap of religion is that we could clean the outside of the cup so well that we are convinced that the whole thing is clean, failing to realize that, although religion could fix some external behaviors, it never produces in us a heart that loves God more than anything else. It adds Jesus to our own ideas, dreams, and life plans, but it never allows Jesus to become the ONE THING. That's the trap. It's the illusion of true love. This is what Pastor Tim describes as the "delusional thinking" that religion produces in us. The trap is so sophisticated that we can't even see it.
The one thing that religion can't touch is the one thing that Abba is after - your heart.
Listen to God's word to Samuel as he enters Jesse's home, looking for the next king of Israel. Samuel is tempted to look at the outside of the cup, but Yahweh reminds him of what's most important.
But Yahweh said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)
Religion only looks at the outward appearance. Yahweh looks at the heart.
Jesus fixes his gaze upon us, with tender love and compassion, and asks us about our hearts, not about how well we can check off the to-do list of American Christianity. The rich, young ruler was everything that the church would want in a member, but there was one thing in him that was lacking, and that one thing kept him from face-to-face fellowship with Jesus. He was probably celebrated, even envied, when he went to the synagogue later that week - but what about his heart?
As we take the walk with Abba today, let's go beyond external behaviors and to-do lists. Let's open our hearts up, as wide as possible, in His presence. And let's allow His love and goodness to usher us out of every lie we've ever believed about Him and about ourselves. It's His goodness that leads us out of the sophisticated trap of religion and into perfect love. Don't forget... His gaze is fixed on you today, with tender love and compassion. Take His hand, go on the walk with Him, and let Him produce in you what religion never could - a heart of intimacy and honor that values His presence more than anything else in the world.
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Worship: "I'm A Lover Of Your Presence" by Bryan & Katie Torwalt
Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place
Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!
