Having not done it, I assume it can’t be done

one plus two equals zero without three.

life along the riverbank, Kerala, India

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Matthew 19.21

If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

A man in Bible college told me that he and his wife decided to follow this verse. They sold everything and waited for something to happen. He said the lesson they learned from this is that nothing will happen.

The problem with their experiment is that they did the “sell” and “give” part but not the “follow” part. Each part is necessary, and waiting is not the same thing as following.

Someone who buys fatigues and a rifle and then sits home waiting for orders from the Pentagon will sit for a very long time. Every part of the demand is necessary. Doing only one or two parts gets you nowhere.

Back then, having no experience with this, I thought their experiment was a bit humorous. And the lesson I took from it was that maybe that “sell and give” worked in Christ’s day but doesn’t work now, so some adjustment is needed for our present situation.

I think that’s a fairly common assumption: that some adjustment is needed. Now, having tried it, I don’t think some adjustment is needed to understand Scripture: a huge adjustment is needed! But not in Scripture: in us! We listen to people who have never done it and, having never done it, they have proven it can’t be done! Yes, it can. Not easily, and not by everyone, but it can be done. And should be.

It is impossible to understand what it means to do what Christ says until you do it. Listening to people who have never done it won’t help. Praying won’t help, nor will reading devotionals. Or meditation. Or fasting. If you want to know, you have to do it. Meditating on it, deeply, and more deeply, won't get you there. “Deep” is not where this truth is found.

There is no hidden treasure down there that we can drill down to by praying and fasting and meditating. You don’t get wiser by looking inside yourself. It’s impossible. Down look inside, at you; look outside, at them.

The gold isn’t down there. It’s out there.