Balance

21Jesus looked him hard in the eye--and loved him! He said, "There's one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me." Mark 10:21

The last few days I've thought about and written about living what we believe. I am afraid that I sound so legalistic sometimes when I get in this mode. And then I am even more afraid to water down what I read in scripture.
The truth is so simple and yet we tend to make it so complicated. Jesus died for us. He gave all he had, not so that we wouldn't have to, but so that he could be with us. Once we choose to follow Jesus, I think we get the same message from Jesus that the rich young ruler did in Mark 10. We are told to sell our wealth, and give what we have to those who need it.
Our wealth may not be money. Wealth is that thing that gives you worth. Maybe it's a coin collection. It could be your friends or your family. The truth is, anything could hold you back from following Jesus, even your religion. Jesus saves us from sin and from the effects, but what he does is just open the door for us. We have to follow him through the portal. And the portal is narrow. It looks to be the size of a needle's eye. The more we try to carry through it, the less likely we'll be able to get there.
Faith is Jesus saves the soul and gives it a place in the book of life. But to save the life the faith must be exercised, trusting God that undressing our life of the things that hold us back is the best thing we can do.
So is it necessary for our salvation to sell all we have And give it to the poor? No. Is it asked of us? I'm pretty sure that it is. The question now is the same the disciples asked once the young ruler walked away from Jesus. Who has any chance of letting go of their life to get through?
Jesus' reply was, "None. Not if you think you can do it on your own." Do you want to let go of what is holding you back? Do you want the full potential of God's kingdom on earth in you as it is in heaven? If so, then turn your face to God and ask him what it is that holds you back. Then listen. He'll reveal it in time, in the small whisper. God will show you your walls and will provide the means to get them down.
Our lives must be a balance of grace and action based on faith. That seems to be where we get lost. We either rely too much on ourselves and over do it, or we lean too much on God's grace and take no action to rid our lives of our sin. I hope we can let God show us the balance.