I Was The Rich Man

Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.

You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”

And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”

Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!”

And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?”

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.”†

So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's,

who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.

But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Frustration was getting the better of me.

I had been trying for a year. An entire year, to find work. The frustration was palpable. I wanted to hit something, I was so angry.

I had tried everything to find work, and nothing was working.

It’s true, I had been enjoying English teaching. The income was inconsistent, but enough to survive, and not only to survive, but to travel around Russia and renovate a house.

But it wasn’t enough for what we needed to do: finish the house and prepare for the future.

I looked back on this promise.

Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.

And I realized this was me.

And then I looked at the context:

Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

And I realized that, at one point, this was also me.

Even after a year of humbly receiving from the hand of God my daily bread, and still living better than probably 90% of the world, I was still worrying.

I was still fretting.

I was still frustrated that I wasn’t making what I once made.

But I had been given a choice.

In the United States, I could have remained in comfort.

But I repented.

I sold and gave away almost everything I had. Orthodoxy was the Pearl of Great Price, and it was worth it.

Later, I gave away much more, and most of my remaining possessions I had left, were either stolen from me, or lost.

But I found something greater.

The way to salvation was revealed to me.

Too, many human relationships were left behind: there were two wives and three children did not want to follow Christ, and so they were taken from me as well. They went their own way.

But in Russia, I was given much more.

I learned to pray like never before.

I lost weight.

Coming here stopped the fast-track to diabetes that killed my father. Russia saved my life.

I found a better wife, far better than I deserve, a real wife, a true queen who treats me as a king.

I saw miracle after miracle. Not only miraculous provision, but also miraculous relics and other ‘coincidences’ that were far too personal to be random chance.

This was me.

I was the rich man.

Like him, I stood before Christ, and I had a choice.

Like the Apostles, I chose correctly.

Like them, too, I will likely experience much more sorrow and trouble than I needed to.

But the reward is Christ.

And He is all I want.

Some of the stuff, I may get back. The promises are right there. If God gives it to me, I will gratefully receive it.

But in the end, I escaped, and all this was intended for my salvation.