Thursday Thought -- July 21, 2011

Good Morning Friends,

“A certain ruler asked him, ‘Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ ‘Why do you call me good?’ Jesus answered. ‘No one is good — except God alone. You know the commandments: “Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.”’ ‘All these I have kept since I was a boy,’ he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’ Those who heard this asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus replied, ‘What is impossible with men is possible with God.’” (Luke 18:18-27)

Here is a young man who had several important problems –

First, he thought there was something he could do to earn eternal life. That was the question that he came to Jesus to ask. Jesus’ answer was aimed at helping the young man come to understand that he couldn’t do anything to earn eternal life. On the other hand, if he would just have acknowledged that he was lost and unable to do anything about it, then Jesus would have freely offered His grace.

Second, he thought he was righteous. When Jesus asked him about the Old Testament commandments, the young man declared that he had kept them all since he was a boy. That’s self-delusion. No one has kept those commandments – except Jesus. The young man was guilty, but he didn’t realize it. He thought he was gaining points with Jesus by declaring his righteousness, but the opposite was true. Jesus was looking for an honest admission of guilt – but it never came. An honest admission of guilt is the first step toward salvation. The realization of our need comes before the acceptance of God’s great solution.

Third, he loved his money and possessions more than he love God and what God was offering him. It’s not the money and possessions are bad – they are often a gift from God. However, nothing can be more important to us than God. God won’t take second place to anything in our lives.

It’s not that Jesus wasn’t willing to save this young man – He was! It’s just that He wasn’t willing to save the young man on his own terms. He could only come to God on God’s terms.

That’s true for us, too.

His, by Grace,

Steve