A Rich Young Man

Scripture: Luke 18:18-30

18 Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good. 20 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.’” 21 The man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” 22 When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 23 But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich. 24 When Jesus saw this, he said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! 25 In fact, 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!” (Luke 18:18-25 NLT)

What good deed must I do to have eternal life? The young man asked Jesus a sincere religious question. (Religion is much concerned with earning that which is actually given by grace.) Jesus responded with an un-Jesus-like answer, “Keep the commandments.” The young man asked, “Which ones?” Jesus listed five of them, all having to do with our actions toward other people, not religious actions toward God. The young man said, “I’ve kept those commandments all my life!” (But there was still something missing, and he knew Jesus had the answer!)

As far as doing all the religious stuff, keeping the commandments, even the commandments about treating other people well, this young man was right on track. But in his heart, he recognized that something was missing, the thing that would connect him to eternity. So Jesus told him, “If YOU want to be perfect (complete, whole, mature, with the hole in your heart filled), YOU need to go and sell all your stuff, give the money to the poor, then with only the clothes on your back, come and be my disciple and hang out with this motley crew of ex-fishermen, ex-tax collectors, ex-political radicals, I’ve gathered around me!” Jesus didn’t say everyone needs to do that, but this young man did because it was his wealth and possessions and his sense of superiority to others that was keeping the hole in his heart from being filled. Let’s not let anything keep the hole in our hearts from being filled!

Prayer:

Father, I want to have eternal life, but I want to start living a Kingdom of Heaven life right here and now. I know I’ve got my own tough Jesus challenges to face, but don’t let me ever walk away sad! Keep challenging me! For the Kingdom’s Sake! Amen.