Remember … though the one Jesus loved as a dearest friend had become deathly ill, he remained at John’s baptismal site two more days John 11:3, 6. And though the one Jesus loved with the deepest spiritual love for keeping God’s interpersonal commandments, he imposed the strongest possible demand on him Mark 10:21.
A spiritual principle existed on both occasions, one related to God’s personal will for Jesus, the other to Christ’s personal ownership of discipleship. Christ’s strong friendship love for Lazarus had to be secondary to God’s will for Jesus. And his spiritual love for the Rich Young Ruler demanded the surrender of his deepest attachment in life. Whether responding to beloved friends, or with God’s ownership involved, Jesus always added SOMETHING MORE. Consider when Simon Peter feared following Jesus, he needed to stop fishing for a living and serve Jesus by searching for lost people. See this as a possible meaning of John 21:2-3, 15. When Zacchaeus repented, he instinctively realized he had to shatter his love of money on a greater devotion to his conversion Luke 19:8-10. When Saul the persecutor of Jesus became Saul the disciple of Jesus, he understood he lost all he had valued as a Jew to inherit all he possessed as a Christian Philippians 3:3-11. When the teacher of the law understood the greatest commandment, Jesus declared him “not far from the kingdom of God” Mark 12:34. NOT far, but NOT IN. The principle remains intact. To get into God’s Kingdom, we must go beyond Law and beyond tradition, and beyond all our human opinions TO Christ and his Greater Expectations. What do we each lack to be that kind of disciple?
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