Lacking in a World of Plenty
Mark 10: 17 – 31
We live in a world of plenty. I don’t think any of us living in the United States of America could legitimately argue otherwise, the frequent conversations centered around homelessness, poverty and food insecurity notwithstanding. Even the poorest among us are considered rich by the rest of the world’s standards.
There are, however, signs around us that indicate even in this world of plenty, there is still something lacking, and that is truly sad. Those indicators are not tangible things like food, shelter, clothing and transportation. They’re much more intangible—things like identity, meaning, purpose and fulfillment. Dare I even say, “Salvation?” You know? All things that money can’t buy.
According to recent data from the National Alliance on Mental Illness and other sources, about 1 in 5 U.S. adults — over 60 million people — experience mental illness each year, with rising concerns around depression, anxiety, and suicide. This hits young people especially hard: Generation Z, despite unprecedented access to information via smartphones, reports some of the highest levels of mental health struggles among generations. We’ve experienced it in our own family, and it is heartbreaking.
Life is not a matter of having enough stuff. It’s a matter of having the right stuff. We can go throughout our lives with much success, achieving status in our community, gaining financial security and all while being deeply sincere in our beliefs and our actions, and yet, we can still feel as though something is missing. That is a sad predicament, indeed!
Lest I paint too grim a picture, though, let me remind us that there is nothing new under the sun. We’re not the first generation to wrestle with the nature of “stuff” and its impact on our lives. I’m reminded of an encounter Jesus had on His journey to the cross. We find it in Mark 10: 17 – 31. There, a young man comes to Jesus with the existential question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Let’s read that encounter and see if we can discover what is lacking in his world of plenty.
READ MARK 10:17-31
This is an encounter that we find in the three “synoptic” Gospels—Mark, Luke and Matthew. It is when we put all three accounts together that we begin to get a clear picture of the young man. Yes, Mark only says a “man,” but Matthew makes the distinction that he is “young,” and Luke even includes that he is a “ruler” of sorts, so this has become the story of the rich young ruler.
I find it interesting that he was young, and like the young people of our day, he was struggling with a deep existential question. I chose to focus on Mark’s account because we are on a journey to the cross with Mark this Lenten season, and there is one detail that Mark gives us that I believe we must note if we’re to grasp the depth and meaning of the entire encounter. We’ll come to that detail momentarily.
What do we know about this young man? Well, from Luke’s gospel, we know he was rich. We assume it from Mark and Matthew because it says he had “great wealth.” Great wealth? From that, it is safe to assume that he had some measure of success in his life, although I suppose he could have inherited his wealth. Even if he did inherit it, we know that most children from wealthy families do pretty well on their own. Yes, they have a head start. Whether he inherited his wealth or was a successful businessman, his success brought him a measure of status in his community because Luke tells us he was a ruler, as well.
The Greek word appears 37 times in the New Testament and refers to a “leader,” an “official” of some sort—someone with administrative authority. It’s unlikely that a Roman official would approach Jesus with a religious question, so the rich young ruler was probably a Jewish leader in the local synagogue or perhaps even a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish court that dealt with religious issues in Jesus’ day.
Success? Check. Status? Check. I think we can also say he was sincere. According to Mark, the man runs to Jesus and bows before Him. This was not some Jewish religious leadership set up of Jesus. No, this is not how they operated. In Mark’s gospel, the Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees just show up and start questioning Jesus (see Mark 2 and Mark 7).
Mark sharing that the man both ran and knelt indicate he was sincerely seeking wisdom and an answer to his question. But, we also learn of his sincerity in his keeping of the law. Listen to the conversation again:
17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (That’s a sincere question)
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. 19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother’.”
20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”
The young man was a sincere seeker after truth. By every account, here was a man that had success, status in the community and financial security who was truly sincere in matters of faith. He was a good man seeking to do the right thing and live a good life. And yet, something was missing. All of that was not enough. Let me say it another way: This man had achieved all he could hope to achieve. It was not enough. He was lacking in a world of plenty. I wonder if we don’t often find ourselves in the same position? Could it be that we, like him, have everything the world says should be enough…yet still walk away empty?
Personally, as a businessman, I know how easy it is to depend on the balance sheet and the P&L statement to define success and my achievement. I did the same thing when I was in full-time vocational ministry. Success is the measure of a man. Sincerity is a gauge for our goodness. Both are far from reality. The truth is we want to be achievers, not believers. We think we can achieve our salvation, and we do so through success and sincerity. None of our achievements merit salvation. Even the most sincere among us can be sincerely wrong.
I love Jesus’s response to him. Here’s the little detail that Mark includes, which is so unlike Mark. Mark is a “just the facts” kind of guy. For Mark to include this detail signifies its importance. Verse 21 says, “Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him.”
Genuine love! Jesus responded to him with love. It is in love that Jesus corrects us all, and it is in love that Jesus invites us all. 1 John 3:16 says, “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up His life for us.” Jesus wasn’t angry with the man. Jesus heard the man’s question and saw the man’s need, so He responds, “Here’s what you lack…go sell your stuff…give it to the poor…come, follow Me” (Lynn paraphrase).
Here’s the sad part: Mark tells us the man went away sad because he had great wealth. Yes, he had stuff. He had success. He had status. He had security. He even had sincerity. The one thing he lacked? Surrender! The man just couldn’t let go.
The man walking away prompts a teaching moment for Jesus with His disciples. Jesus says, “Hey guys. Do you know how hard it is for a rich person to make it into the Kingdom? It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich person to enter the Kingdom” (another Lynn paraphrase). Let’s set aside the “camel and eye of the needle” for now. Focus on that and we miss the whole point. That’s called majoring in the minors. The point Jesus is teaching his disciples is the difficulty of anyone entering the Kingdom of God.
And, the disciples get the point! “If that’s the case, who can be saved?” It’s the same question the man was asking. So, Jesus brings the point home in verse 27: “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” And, there it is. The key to eternal life…for the man in the encounter…for the disciples…and ultimately, for us, too.
That which is missing for us who live in a land of plenty is surrender. Surrender to the Lordship of Christ. We’re all here this morning and we’re good people. We’re generally successful folks. Most of us have a good measure of financial security and we have sincerely sought to be good people…to do the right thing for the right reason. But we wonder, “Am I saved?” “Will I make it to the Kingdom?” There’s something unsettled in our spirits and we can’t quite put our finger on it.
Success. Status. Security. Sincerity. Those are all good things. Not a bad thing in the bunch. They are, however, not enough. One thing we lack: surrender.
The man loved good things more than he loved Jesus. There is the sin in this encounter. No, it wasn’t a sin that would make us go, “Oh! No! How could he?” Sin is much more subtle than that. It slips up on us and catches us unaware…so much so that we think it isn’t even sin. He kept the law. He wanted to keep control, too. Control rarely feels like control to us. It feels like responsibility. Yet, it kept him from following Jesus. What a shame. Letting a good thing keep him from the best thing.
Our success and our sincerity are never enough for our salvation. Salvation never comes until we surrender to Jesus. Surrender all the things that hinder us from following Him. There is no salvation apart from surrender. Don’t misunderstand me. Salvation is not a transaction. We are not saved because we surrender perfectly — we are saved because we trust the One who surrendered Himself for us.
We hold in our grasp many great and wonderful things…things we’ve worked hard for…things we’ve attained. They mean a lot to us. They are good and wonderful things. They are not the greatest thing, though, and in order to grasp the greatest thing, we have to let go of the good things.
Surrender is not dramatic first. It is directional. It is this: Lord, You get final say. Over:
• My money.
• My schedule.
• My reputation.
• My ambitions.
• My security.
• My success.
We cannot save ourselves. Our success will not be enough. Our status will not be enough. Our security will not be enough. Our sincerity will not be enough. But what is impossible with us is possible with God. God has done for us what we could never do for ourselves. Fully. Finally. In Jesus Christ. So, we do not achieve eternal life. We receive it. We trust Him.
The man in Mark 10 walked away sad because he would not open his hands. Today, we don’t have to walk away that way.
As we pray, I invite you to simply open your hands in front of you — not for anyone else to see, but as a sign to the Lord that what you’ve been holding, you are willing to place in His hands. And don’t forget: whatever we’re holding, Jesus isn’t angry with us. Like the man in Mark’s gospel, Jesus is looking at us with love…wanting His best for us.
We don’t achieve eternal life. We receive it. So, let’s leave today not with clenched fists, but with open hands — ready to receive the grace Christ has already secured for us.
