One of the most fascinating conversations recorded in Jesus’s life was with the “rich, young ruler,” evidently a young man that “had it all.”
Matthew 19:16-22 NLT
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.
This young man’s life was all about what he had, what he had done, and what he hadn’t done. His focus was on behavior, not his heart. How things looked to others, not how things actually were. Jesus knew his treasure was not in pleasing God, so He challenged the man to find a greater, more valuable life than the one he had.
For many of us, we treasure how things look, how we are perceived and how we measure up to others. Imagine this conversation is with you and Jesus asks you to let go of all worldly possessions and perceptions...
How do you respond?
What comes to mind as the hardest thing to let go of?
You are not alone... in our current culture, how we look, what we have, and what we want can be more important than a relationship with Jesus.
For our purposes in this time together, let’s close with a focus on Jesus’s words: “You will have treasure in Heaven when You follow Me.” Can we be satisfied with that? Will you allow His treasure be enough today?
Let’s pray: “Dear Father, I am grateful that when I first encountered You, I said ‘yes’ and didn’t walk away. But help me every day to keep saying ‘yes’ to You, to put You before money, stuff, and the things of this world that distract and attract. Help me to keep selling out for You and following You. As above, so below.”