The Fourth Generation
In 1925, Rebecca’s grandfather Fred Young welcomed Herbert Hoover to the family’s South Carolina dairy farm. Rebecca’s father, Ed, was just five years old. We once thought we might be the fourth generation to carry on the family farm, but God had a different plan.
In midlife, I was called into ministry, and we followed God’s leading. We left the farm, our families, our church, and our friends. Looking back, we can see that this was the path God had for us. And what a gift it has been! God has given us a life rich in ways we could never have imagined, a hundred times over.
This experience has shaped how I think about the good life and what it means to follow Jesus.
Scripture | Mark 10:24–31
Jesus tells his disciples how difficult it can be for those who are rich to enter the kingdom of God. When they wonder who can be saved, he reminds them that all things are possible with God.
Peter then says, “We have left everything to follow you!”
Jesus promises that those who leave homes, family, or fields for him and the gospel will receive a hundred times as much in this present age, along with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.
The Good Life
What is the good life? Most of us would describe it as a secure, healthy, self-directed life surrounded by people we love, with enough money and freedom to enjoy it. That sounds pretty good to me as well. An important part of that vision is the ability to manage our lives in such a way that we avoid discomfort, much less suffering.
But there is a danger in that kind of life. Our wealth, comfort, and status can slowly become the focus of our existence. When that happens, what we thought was the good life can become hollow and unfulfilling.
Jesus promises a different kind of life, one focused on his Kingdom rather than ourselves, yet filled with true meaning. He is also clear that following him will include hardship, sacrifice, and loss. Peter gives voice to that reality when he says, “We have left everything to follow you!” That is our ongoing dilemma as we seek to follow Jesus in an affluent culture: Are we willing to loosen our grip on our well-managed lives in order to follow him?
Missionary Jim Elliot, who lost his life in Ecuador, once wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” That is essentially what Jesus was inviting the rich young man to discover.
The good life Jesus offers is not found in holding tightly to what makes us comfortable, but in surrendering ourselves to the One who is truly good. When we release what we cannot keep, we discover the life with God that can never be taken away.
For Reflection
Do you believe that you are living the good life?
Do you ever feel unfulfilled?
What might Jesus be inviting you to surrender?
Prayer
Lord, we are blessed with so much. Help us to not place the life that we are living above our calling. Give us the courage to seek your kingdom first, believing that you are good and that your plan for our lives, now and into eternity, is beyond anything we can build on our own. Give us the grace this week to follow wherever you may lead. Amen.