Are You Reading For The Answer?

And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. (Luke 18:18-23 KJV)

Here he is, standing before the Lord, ready to do whatever it takes. Well, except for a few things. Except for the one thing Christ asks.

That ‘one thing’ is what he’s worked for all of his life – perhaps what his ancestors had worked for through generations. And this man wants him to give it up. Why? He’s kept the commandments since he was a child. He’s a good man, looking to do better.

Or, was he a man looked for affirmation. Asking Christ a question he already knew the answer to – knowing he had obeyed the commandments, had followed the law – the expected answer was that he had earned his eternal life.

The line “… distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven:” tells us where the ruler’s thoughts were.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:19-21 KJV)

The other mistake the ruler made was in not acknowledging Christ’s divinity. He called Him Good Master, but Christ knew he did not think of Him as God’s promise to Israel. When he walked away, was his sorrow because of his riches, or because he felt Jesus was not the Christ? Was he expecting the easy answer – “Of course you have eternal life because you’ve been good”

That answer won’t come to us, either. Being ‘good’ without Christ is insufficient. Once we have accepted Him, are we also disappointed when He asks for our all?