Today’s Lectionary provides us with a timely reminder of what it really means to give our life completely over to God – to be born again.  Beginning with Reading 1 and continuing on through the Responsorial Psalm, the Alleluia and concluding with today’s Gospel, we find the incredible secrets to experiencing all that God has in mind for those choosing to follow him.

In Peter’s first letter to us as fellow Christians, he reminds us that we are given a “new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”.  This new birth is the definition of our relationship with Christ.  A relationship that ensures us of an astonishing inheritance, an eternal relationship with God in our remaining time on earth followed by a never-ending relationship with Him in heaven.  While receiving any kind of an inheritance is a gift, this one sees us as a new creation, without sin – undefiled.  No matter our past mistakes and sins, this inheritance is imperishable.  It will never change.  In fact, it is kept for us personally in heaven for all of eternity.  The key to this incredible promise is found through the FAITH of a born-again follower of Jesus.

While this concept may sound simple, it is not.  Only through the power of God can we experience the kind of faith that will carry us through the hard times of life.  In fact Peter tells us here that we will indeed have to “suffer through various trials”.  These trials certainly are not pleasant at the time, but if we can only maintain our focus upon the goal of our faith – the salvation of our souls – we can expect to taste the promised “indescribable and glorious joy” that is ours through this new birth.

In Psalm 111, we find what we can expect once we have given our lives to God.  Once we have given our hearts completely to our Lord, it changes us.  We begin to understand who God really is.  His power & wisdom are simply beyond anything we could ever imagine.  How could we not FEAR Him with a holy fear that makes us want to serve Him and to seek to never let Him down.   While the world will provide endless distractions to us each and every day, we know that through the Lord’s power and great works, our faith will indeed prevail as it draws us closer to Him.  Throughout the Bible, we see how richly God has provided for His people – those who understand how powerful He is and who thus fear Him while simultaneously loving Him and seeking to serve Him. 

Our Gospel today from the tenth chapter in Mark provides us with not only directions of how to embrace God’s promises for our lives, but it also provides the solution for us when we fail in our genuine attempts to maintain an unwavering commitment to following our Savior.  We see that it is not enough to follow the 10 commandments,  we must seek Jesus first – above everything else in this world. It must be personal.  It must be the seeking of a daily relationship with our Savior.  The unbelievable results of such a personal quest is eternal life with God, an eternal life free from all the evils of our present world.  Yet we can easily allow self erected barriers to stand in the way of us truly giving our hearts completely over to God.  Jesus’ response to the rich young ruler clearly addresses those potential barriers that keep us from a sincere RELATIONSHIP – a commitment to - Christ.  Those barriers come in many forms.  They can be our church, our wealth, our earthly pleasures, our jobs, and even our families & friends.  Following Jesus will indeed require a super human commitment to live for Him.  The kind of daily commitment that is only available through God’s power.  As the closing statement from Jesus in our Gospel today clearly spells out, “For men it is impossible, but not for God.  All things are possible for God”.  Yes, we can overcome all those things in our lives that stand in the way of a constant focus on God.  We can achieve, through the power of our amazing God,  the goal of our life – salvation and eternal life with our Lord and Savior. 

Dear Heavenly Father, it is so easy to let the world distract us from a close, enduring relationship with you.  We know your promises and the incredible inheritance that is ours through a relationship with you.  Grant us your power to overcome the world, to surrender our heart and soul completely to you.  To live for you and you alone.  We thank and love you with all our heart.  In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen