The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.” Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions. [Mark 12.32-34]
Jesus told the religious teacher, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." What did that mean?
I had the thought of a guy being hanged by the neck with a rope (thinking of old Western movies here). Unknown to everyone else, his partner is off behind a building somewhere and shoots the rope, breaking it and rendering the "hanging" ineffective. Now, suppose the shooter missed? Would it matter how far he missed? No, it wouldn't matter at all.
So, for Jesus to say the religious teacher was not far from the Kingdom of God really was no consolation, was it? In fact, in just a few verses there in the book of Mark, Jesus went on to describe what was probably the distance the religious leader was off the target (so to speak):
Jesus also taught: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished.” [Mark 12.38-40]
"Not far" then, still makes a huge difference. It is simply not enough to be "close" because "close" is not close enough.
Father, I want to be "right on" in my relationship with, and obedience to, You.
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