I’m a big fan of theories. I love sitting around and chatting with friends about what Heaven might be like, what the future may hold for technology, how we would raise our children and what we would do to ensure their future as Godly people, social theory, and even occasionally the theory of relativity. And I love the self-discovery that comes with discussing things in the “what if” format. Of course these discussions rarely lead to any real action; we don’t solve world hunger, we don’t discover the secrets of infinite Heaven, we don’t invent new computer technology, and I have yet to raise Godly children. But that’s what makes theory so much fun: you don’t really have to do anything.
I was having an interesting conversation with my friend Amanda Cairney the other day and, by way of attention deficit issues, we ended up on the topic of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19 (also in Mark 10 and Luke 18). Kid asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus tells him he must keep the commandments, the kid says he has from his youth (which he may not be very far out of) and asks what he still lacks. “Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'” Now, in theory, Jesus is telling us to give away all our possessions, but in practice, He just doesn’t want us to get attached to our stuff, right? He just means that we should get to a place spiritually where we could, in theory, give everything away; but being in theory only, we don’t really have to do anything. That is sure a lot nicer than giving up all my shoes and clothes and movies and music and lamps and beds and everything else and go follow Jesus and preach the Word with only the clothes on my back. Who wants that? Yuk.
I feel that all too often, we try to live our Christian lives “in theory.” I follow the Great Commission, in theory. I love my neighbor, in theory. I pray for the saints daily, in theory. I could go on, but you get the idea. But there’s a problem with that. Remember James chapter two when he said that faith without works is dead? Likewise, theory without practice is worthless. What if Jesus only became a man in theory? What if He only healed people in theory? What if He only died in theory? I mean, He was fully spiritually ready to do so, but that’s what really counted. What if He only paid for your sins in theory? A lot of good that would do you. “In theory” does not have any impact on real life. Without practice, it is worthless.
So what did Jesus mean when He told the rich young ruler that? Was He telling all Christians everywhere to sell everything and follow Him. Well, in theory (HAHA! I couldn’t resist!), it was said to the ruler in the context of His situation. Does that mean no one else needs to? I doubt it. The fact that it is in scripture tells us that He wanted someone to hear it. Was it for you? I don’t know and I can’t say, but this I do promise you: something He said was for you. Of all the 66 books, I personally guarantee that there is something He is saying to you directly. When you find it, don’t just talk about it in theory, but put it into practice as well.
