Father Knows Best--by Linden Malki

We know the story--a rich young man comes to Jesus and asks  “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” The first thing Jesus asks is that this man knows and keeps the Commandments--which he does. But when Jesus, who knows more about us than we know ourselves, tells this man that he needs to sell everything and give it to the poor, and follow Him, this man realizes that he wants his stuff more than he wants Life. It's easy to know what to do, but doing it is a whole different proposition. The world is full of people that will tell you what you should do, but the only One who truly knows what you were created to do is the Creator Himself.  In this story, we need to notice two things: it says that Jesus loved him, and He gave the young man the option of following or not. He didn't pressure him, He didn't chase after him. He let him follow his own path, even at the cost of his soul. This is one reason that the world is in the shape that is in: God respects our decisions, even at the cost of the consequences.

Our world  encourages us to want "stuff", often at the cost of the true things in life. This may be material stuff, or ego-stroking stuff, or laziness, or stuff that tastes and feels "good" at the time but leaves a bad taste or worse. We can open our eyes and look past the superficial stuff and see what the long-run results are; and it may not always be obvious. Jesus' disciples asked what they could expect from their faithfulness, and at first it looked like trouble and opposition and hardship, and persecution. Yes, Jesus tells them, you have given up much to follow Me, but rewards will be My rewards in serving in this life and the unimaginable joys of the next. And they did see it all--all but John, from what we know, died to this world, as they had offered their lives, and are remembered and appreciated for what we can learn from them.

We live in a world that sees "freedom" as meaning that we ought to be able to do whatever we "want",  but the question is what do we think we want and why?  Too many people have put themselves first, without understanding that we are not necessarily the best judge of good and evil, practical and impractical, logical and illogical, and don't look beyond today. Even "smart" people are not smart about everything, and  may not see other people's knowledge as useful. We need to learn how to evaluate what we think and what we are told; and the best judge is the One that has always offered wisdom when we sincerely ask and want true answers. It may not be easy, but it is worth it.