HOST: Ron House
SPONSOR: Start2Finish
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.
This is, in my opinion, one of the saddest stories in the New Testament. Sadder still is the fact that it is played out over and over in our world today. The man at the center of this story was a good man, a religious man, a righteous man. He was better than most in his obedience to the law. But that wasn’t enough. He wanted more. He wanted to have eternal life. Not only did he want eternal life, but he came to the right place to find it. He seemed to have all the pieces in place—obedience, desire, submission. He was almost there. But there was a problem. Jesus, knowing the young man’s heart, instructed him to sell all that he had and come follow Him. Though this young man obeyed God’s law, he worshipped his things. They had become his god. If he was to have eternal life, he would have to replace his god (worldly things) with the God of heaven and earth. It is still true today that many are not faithful to God because they worship their things instead. Even many who wear the name of Christ are guilty of serving the god of this world. But just like the rich young ruler, we cannot serve both. We must choose whether we will serve God or things.
Why can we not serve both God and things?
Don’t forget to pray and have a great day!
