"It seems as though the young man had been following Christ for some time and was basically asking what it took to be like (or to be) one of the disciples. When Christ called the disciples, he said, “Come and follow me”. Nothing about “pack up your bags, put your money into a long-term high-yield cd, and turn down your water heater”. Just: “Come. Follow me.” He set a high bar: live in total reliance on the Father to provide, just as Christ lived. The rich young man wasn’t able or willing to meet that high bar. Christ could’ve lowered it as an exception for the young man, but would that really help anyone? It would devalue the sacrifice of the other disciples, and it wouldn’t help the young man with his struggle with “two masters”. I keep thinking that I want to be part of a High Bar group, that I can’t do this on my own, that I can’t live a High Bar life until I have a group who is committed to live the same way. I look at Shane Claiborne, the Iona Community, the Church of the Apostles, the Mustard Seed Community, Christian Peacemaker Teams, groups who are making sacrifices to live in radical ways, ways they feel called to live into by God. I hear about churches that have support groups for marriage, for money, for parenting, for redemption, for recovery, that set a high bar level of participation - and transformation seems to be happening! I think about Graham Cooke’s Schools of Prophesy and communities he’s partnered with that move into cities and abandoned places to serve as God’s redeeming hands and feet. Transformation! The living out of the Kingdom!"
Martin’s Note: Yep, I think this is what a lot of us are looking for. Good comments on the post too.
