Anchors

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Sunday - 9:15 AM Sunday School, 10:30 AM Worship Service

by: Denise Robinson

10/07/2021

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And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." 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." Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:17-22)


This is one of the saddest stories in the Bible. We see a young man who is very interested in the things of God—he seeks out Jesus because he really wants to know about eternal life and how to have it. He is not playing games when he asks Jesus for advice. Jesus loves him and offers him the opportunity to follow him, but at the same time Jesus knows that the man has some in his life that is his true priority - and it isn't Jesus. 

The man has an anchor holding him to his present life; in his case, it's money, land, jewels. He is weighed down by the "stuff" that he owns and his heart is in them. We may think to ourselves, "Well, I'm safe from that. I'm not rich." But there are many types of anchors. An anchor is anything or anyone that we give priority, to the point our hearts become so entangled in these things that when Jesus calls, we cannot free themselves and follow. Often these things are not bad in and of themselves; and it may be hard to believe but when we remember to put Christ first in our lives all those other things have a way of working out. 

In the quietness of the day, ask yourself: What is my anchor? And how do I deal with that anchor if I am to follow Christ?
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And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." 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." Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:17-22)


This is one of the saddest stories in the Bible. We see a young man who is very interested in the things of God—he seeks out Jesus because he really wants to know about eternal life and how to have it. He is not playing games when he asks Jesus for advice. Jesus loves him and offers him the opportunity to follow him, but at the same time Jesus knows that the man has some in his life that is his true priority - and it isn't Jesus. 

The man has an anchor holding him to his present life; in his case, it's money, land, jewels. He is weighed down by the "stuff" that he owns and his heart is in them. We may think to ourselves, "Well, I'm safe from that. I'm not rich." But there are many types of anchors. An anchor is anything or anyone that we give priority, to the point our hearts become so entangled in these things that when Jesus calls, we cannot free themselves and follow. Often these things are not bad in and of themselves; and it may be hard to believe but when we remember to put Christ first in our lives all those other things have a way of working out. 

In the quietness of the day, ask yourself: What is my anchor? And how do I deal with that anchor if I am to follow Christ?
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