16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" 17And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." 18He said to him, "Which ones?" Can you believe the young man is asking Jesus which ones? Does that not sound like us though? There are over 600 laws in the Old Testament Jews were to follow, and this young man somehow thinks that he doesn't need to follow all of them. Do we not like to do just the bare minimum? I wonder if this question pointed to the true condition of the man's heart which would lead to what Jesus would ask him to do later. The young man was willing to follow Jesus, but he wanted there to be a limit on what he would have to do! Do you ever question whether you have already given God enough? Yet, Jesus still engages with the man.
And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 20The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" Now, I'm wondering, does this man really think he's close to being perfect?! He's questioning what else he could still lack. Sadly, I must admit that there was a time in my life, when I compared myself to people around me and thought I was doing "pretty well," and even still, the temptation is still there. But let us remember that our standard is not other people, our standard is Christ. Now, we can also look at this young ruler's question as that he does know he still lacks, and he's asking Christ to search his heart and tell him. That is a GOOD thing! That is how I had to start to break the incredible foundation of pride in my own life -- I ask God regularly to show me what I lack, or where I miss the mark, and let me assure you, He is faithful in pointing these areas out to me!
21Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Who is the rich person you think of when you read this story? Of course famous millionaires come to mind first, right? Then, perhaps its the person down the street who drives the nice car, or the co-worker who can afford a cleaning lady, or your friends who have a condo in Cancun. But may I suggest to you that as Americans, we are automatically in this category. WE have lots of stuff, and we like our stuff! You are this man, and I am this man if the idea of parting with our stuff leaves us feeling sorrowful.
25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" 26But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." 27Then Peter said in reply, "See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?" 28Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30But many who are first will be last, and the last first. The Kingdom of God is upside-down to us isn't it? It is in stark contrast to what our present world tells us. Commercials tell us we cannot live without our stuff, that we deserve our stuff, and that we're worth it. But the Bible says, You can live without all your stuff; Jesus deserves all of you, because He's worth it! It's not the things themselves that are bad -- remember Solomon was extremely wealthy, like Bill Gates wealthy, and God honored him. But Solomon also said near the end of his life that all of his possessions were meaningless! They did not control his heart and affections.
So whether you have two cents or two million dollars today, Jesus desires that we could live with open hands. The Lord can take from us what He desires, and He can also put into our hands what He desires. Keep in mind that He can't put anything in our hands if they in in closed fists around what we do have! The main goal, my friends, is that we might follow Christ with everything. Surrender control to Him today...again...and keep surrendering to Him as long as you walk this earth. Your reward in Heaven will be totally worth it IF you surrender everything to Him: "a hundredfold and eternal life."
Thank you Molly
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