Mathew 19:16-22
Freedom is an inborn desire in every human being, a life in any form of chains is meaningless. This is the reason why men and women alike endeavor to fight bravely against all forms of oppression, disease, poverty, ignorance and the list is endless. Our hearts yearn for a heavenly touch and a relationship with God but there seems to be a disconnect somewhere, it is evident that all is not well, our desires and efforts are frustrated and we realize that we are not free neither is the kingdom of God so near to us.
Loving God and not caring for our neighbor is an exercise in futility, we will only be free if we fulfill God’s desire for our lives by loving one another.
A rich young man from the bible in Mathew 19:16-22, confident of keeping up with the commandments approached Jesus just to find out if he was surely in good books out of all the effort he had put in to be righteous but when Jesus pointed out that he needed to do much more to help the poor. This man’s spirit instantly crushed, and he walked away from the Savior of the world very sorrowful. We are left to imagine what could have been if he obeyed Christ, that perhaps a blessing similar to that of Abraham would have been his portion or perhaps spending eternity with the Lord would have been his inheritance, and the imaginations go on.
The first glance at this story brings an emotion of rebuke to this man who could not perceive critical life matters like obedience to God. We think about the lost opportunity to spend his life around the Savior of the world, but wait a minute, what is our response to the same Savior when it comes to caring for the orphans, widows, the hungry, sick, naked, homeless, and the rejected e.t.c.? Consider that God has not even asked us to dispose what we have to help the needy but just to share what He has already given us graciously with them, yet we turn our backs on them heartbroken and depressed to ‘deplete’ our resources. This is truly an elusive freedom; His kingdom in us is too near yet too far.
The hurting and forgotten people in the society are a treasure to God and we must value them as such. It is through them, that we have the opportunity to share and experience the love of God who has chosen to live with us in this form. His priority must become ours too by trading the sadness of loving, serving and giving to others with the joy, freedom and opportunities that God pours out of it.
By Zippy Kiruthu
From Her Book-The Burning Candle
