Someone once said that total surrender goes beyond natural devotion and
obedience and Peter knew this first hand. In Mark 10:28, Peter said
"...Look, we have left everything and followed You." In our modern
day world very few will abandon all to follow Christ, but it begs the question,
what is Christ asking His followers to do? In the context of this passage
(v.17-31) Christ is dealing with the issue of possessions and wealth.
Personally, as I have grown in Christ I have less desire for possessions and a
greater desire for Christ. I have found that possessions are not always an
advantage and can often become a hindrance to knowing Christ. Possessions are
given to believers to serve, assist, and build up the kingdom of God,
but often have the power to turn a follower's heart cold and distance
towards God and kingdom work. The desire for possessions or anything more
than Christ is idolatry and is extremely problematic for the body of Christ in
America. The pursuit of possessions hinders outreach, relationships, evangelism,
and the Christian witness. It becomes a heart issue where the heart is drawn
away from deep devotion to the Lord. Our enemy (Satan) hates Christ, he hates
the Bible, he hates prayer, and he hates genuine Christian fellowship. The
enemy hates when we exercise faith and he hates when we let go of insecurities
and selfishness and place our trust in Christ. Satan wants us to hold on to
temporal things and is doing what he can to prevent Christians from walking by
faith, by enticing them to walk by sight. If we will only give up; give
up our desire for possessions, give up our desire for serving self, give
up our desire to have our will done, and give up our lives to Him, God will add
to us in ways we can't imagine. Our needs were created by God to be surrendered.
Only a few really know what it means to "leave everything and follow Him." Don't just visualize what this would mean, come and experience it.
Full surrender is where peace is found and it's what changes our communities and our world.
Only a few really know what it means to "leave everything and follow Him." Don't just visualize what this would mean, come and experience it.
Full surrender is where peace is found and it's what changes our communities and our world.
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