‘Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” “Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” the man asked. And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?” Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.’ Matthew 19:16-22(NLT)
Thoughts on the message
It is a powerful description of the difference between our thinking and God’s thinking.
Man: What must I do to be good enough for heaven?
Jesus: To be “complete”, you obey the law, have nothing ahead of God, and follow Jesus.
We have so many things attached to our lives. Our needs, our comfort, our dreams and hopes, our expectations for this life all impact how we follow Jesus. We wonder if we do a “good enough” job of following Jesus given all the challenges we face. Jesus’ answer to us is exactly the same—no there is none good enough. Jesus wants us to have nothing ahead of God—everything can be dropped at any moment so we can follow Him. Sometimes that is very painful. Sometimes so painful that we walk away rather than be obedient.
Prayer
Father, I ask for forgiveness for trying to find out what is “good enough” for You in my life. I am asking what I can keep and still have You happy with me. Your answer is that everything must be given to You. That is hard sometimes. We all want to keep some things—and I am no different than anyone else. So today I offer everything again to You. It is painful because I have dreams and hopes like everyone else. Still, I would rather have Jesus than anything. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
from Forgiveness & Marriage—Disciple Makers Series #19