and behold, a man came up to him, saying, “teacher, what good deed must i do to have eternal life?” and 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.” he said to him, “which ones?” and Jesus said, “you shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” the young man said to him, “all these i have kept. what do i still lack?” Jesus 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.” when the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Jesus said to his disciples, “truly, i say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. [matthew 19:16-23]
we often do what the rich young ruler did: we want the checklist to make sure we get to heaven. this wrong thinking causes us ask questions like:
how far is too far to go with my girlfriend?
how much do i technically give to the church?
is it actually sin?
like the rich young ruler, we are asking the wrong questions–we should be asking
“what would please and glorify the Lord in (my relationship, my giving, in my conviction?)”
this young man wants the answer–he wants to know how much he can get away with. he wants the world and eternity–he is a consumer, a spectator. what he needed wasn’t his possessions, but presence. Jesus was calling him and us to a greater treasure than any treasure we could ever amass on earth.
we have a treasure on offer to you and me today–through Jesus we have presence, a invitation into the throne room of the King of the universe.
jim elliot said it well–
“he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
let us abide in the treasure of Christ today–
and this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. [john 17:3]
~ce