Matthew 19:16-22
Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments." "Which ones?" he inquired. Jesus replied, "'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,'and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'" "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
From the perspective of men, this young man is indeed a good guy, but why did he "went away sad" at the end? There are many reasons. First of all, he has the wrong concept of eternal life. He thought that the condition for entering into eternal life is goodness. Therefore, he called Jesus a good teacher (in Chinese translation); he only thought that Jesus was a good man but didn't recognize that Jesus is the Son of God. He had the wrong concept of goodness as well, as he believed that obeying the rules of law makes a person good. Actually, a person can obey all the laws on the outside, but may not have a close relationship with God inside. Moreover, who can claim to have obeyed all the rules of the law? Jesus mentioned the last five of the Ten Commandments but skipped one - Which was the love for property and money, this was exactly the main problem with the young man. Today, many of us feel that we're righteous, but that won't save us at all. Jesus knew the problem in the young man's heart, so He corrected him by saying: "Why do you ask me about what is good... There is only One who is good." In other word, no one can enter the Kingdom of God by his own goodness, because only God is totally good. A person will only humble himself and depend on God when he sees how unrighteous he really is.
Next, this young man is mistaken in how much he valued himself more than he valued God. When the Lord told him: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor... Then come, follow me," he became sad, because his heart valued wealth more than he valued God, and his heart loved all that he possessed more than he loved God. Everyone in the Bible who encountered the Lord left happily, but this young man alone left in sadness, because he couldn't believe that God's way is higher than his way, and God's will is higher than his will. He also couldn't believe that God's provision is better than his own provision, therefore he had to hold on to his own possessions, but in return lost his own life.
What's your condition today? What do you value the most in life? May the Lord help us, don't let those little things that we own hinder us from seeking the abundance and perfection of the Lord.
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