[Finding God in All Things] Day 18 – The First Step in Returning God's Love

Farmer of Hearts - Finding God in All Things

In the reflection of the past week on the encounter between the rich young man and Jesus, one particularly thought-provoking point emerged. What Jesus asked of the rich young man is also what He asks of each of us Christians who long for eternal life. Jesus said to the rich young man, "Go, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, taking up the cross." (Mark 10:21) We can’t help but wonder, "It can’t be that serious, right?"

Another important realization is that we didn’t take God seriously enough. To put it simply, we lack genuine interest in God and don't take the initiative to care about His needs and emotions.

At the same time, we also recognize that God goes to great lengths to enter into our lives and connect with us through various roles, images, and other creations according to our individual needs. Besides revealing His true nature to us, the most crucial aspect is to enable as many people as possible to accept His salvation in order to win the most souls.

Having understood these key points, we further recognize the essence of God, which is that, out of love for us, He is willing to pay any price. Yes, for us, He will give up everything He has without reservation, regardless of Himself, so that we can regain eternal life and be with Him forever in our heavenly home! Therefore, when Lord Jesus asks you and me, "Who do you say that I am?" He not only desires us to understand who He is, His role, and image, but most importantly, He wants us to know His essence, the nature of God!

This "unreserved" nature of God reveals several key points to us. First, out of love for us, God is not only willing to "become all things," but He is also willing to do whatever is necessary for us. Hence, if it is beneficial to us, God will not hesitate to provide us with all our real needs and rescue us from danger.

Second, since God has paid such a heavy price for us, how could He possibly not use all His power and means to bestow upon us and as many people as possible the grace of salvation, and prevent all those who have received salvation from losing this grace for any reason?

Third, because God takes our relationship with Him seriously and desires its healthy development to fulfill His above two expectations, God also expects us to be serious about Him and hopes for a responsive love towards Him. His minimum requirement is that we follow Him. Yes, just like the demand He made of the rich young man – in other words, the minimum threshold for us to embark on the path to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Please note that after Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" (Luke 9:20), He told them, "The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised." (Luke 9:22) He then continued by saying, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23) We can note that this request is similar to His request for the rich young man. Firstly, it involves "denying oneself," which is equivalent to what He told the rich young man: "Go, sell whatever you have and give to the poor." (Mark 10:21) The next step is to carry our own cross every day and follow Jesus.

This indicates that the path to the Kingdom of Heaven should be difficult, and there are no shortcuts! Although we may not fully understand why it needs to be this way, one thing we see is that Jesus not only asks us to do so, but He Himself indeed went through it! Everything happened just as He foretold how He would suffer, be killed, and rise again.

Yes, following Jesus is not an easy task. But one thing we can be sure of is that God will not allow us to pay a higher price than if we had to pay the debt of our own sins ourselves. Otherwise, how could He, for our sake, give up His own life as a ransom for many? (See Matthew 20:28)

Reflection

Have you ever put serious thoughts about how to follow Jesus that is up to His standard? Do you perceive yourself as earnest or lightly in your commitment?

Do you believe that you are worth the great sacrifice Jesus made for you? Why?

God paid a heavy price out of love to redeem and save you. Are you moved by this? How would you like to give back more to God?

Today’s Prayer

Lord, I have always thought of myself as a pretty decent Christian. I realize now that I haven't truly grasped the depth and breadth of Your love for me – a love so profound, so boundless. Your unreserved love prompts me to question why I can be so indifferent and heartless towards You. I find myself appalling in my own eyes.

Yet, You remain silent, patiently waiting for me. It makes me feel like the prodigal son in the parable, shamelessly piercing Your heart.

Lord, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me once again.

Thank You for allowing me to come home and rediscover the identity and love that You have always reserved for me.

Heavenly Father, please don't let me be separated from You again.

--------------------
The following is the “Farmer of Hearts: Finding God in All Things” team, including FLL staff and volunteers. Please kindly pray for them. May God protect them and sustain their physical, mental and spiritual well-being.

Project Manager: Michael Lam
Writer: Paul Yeung
Editors: Bonny Chan, Rosa Tse
English Editors: Bonny Chan, Paul Yeung
Mandarin Editor: Anthony X.
Cantonese Narrator: Margaret Woo
English Narrator: Bonny Chan
Mandarin Narrator: Rene Ren
Audio Editors: Fonte Ip, Sander Lee, Margaret Woo
YouTube Editors: Fonte Ip, Sander Lee, Arnold Chan
Graphics: Francis Lai, Rosa Tse
Website: Patricia Young, Angela Wong
Podcast: Angela Wong
Social Media: Yollie Leung, Carmen Tsang, Rosa Tse
Theme Music:
“Friends Only” by Introvert Pianist https://www.youtube.com/@introvertpianist
“Watercolor Lilies” by Aaron Kenny https://youtube.com/@contactkennya

★ Support this podcast ★