18 A certain ruler asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to obtain eternal life?”
19 Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except the one God. 20 You know the commandments: Don’t commit adultery. Don’t murder. Don’t steal. Don’t give false testimony. Honor your father and mother.”[a]
21 Then the ruler said, “I’ve kept all of these things since I was a boy.”
22 When Jesus heard this, he said, “There’s one more thing. Sell everything you own and distribute the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me.” 23 When he heard these words, the man became sad because he was extremely rich.
24 When Jesus saw this, he said, “It’s very hard for the wealthy to enter God’s kingdom! 25 It’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”
26 Those who heard this said, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible for humans is possible for God.”
28 Peter said, “Look, we left everything we own and followed you.”
29 Jesus said to them, “I assure you that anyone who has left house, husband, wife, brothers, sisters, parents, or children because of God’s kingdom 30 will receive many times more in this age and eternal life in the coming age.”
Reflection
How many times have we heard this story? How many times have we discussed it during a Bible study, Sunday School class, or heard it in a sermon or a devotion? I think I referenced it not all that long ago.
We usually think about the fact that the wealthy young man decides to choose his wealth over a life with Jesus. I would like to think that maybe after his encounter with Jesus, the young man became more generous – maybe he didn’t sell everything, but I like to think he was willing to help his community more than he had. We will never know.
Do you ever wonder about the people in the Bible that are mentioned in a story or is that just me? As we think about Sunday’s discussion and the scripture from Micah that asks us what the Lord requires of us, I think we can use this scripture from Luke to guide us as well. We need to ask those questions – what can/should we do specifically to help further the kindom of God? We hear the young man ask Jesus the very specific question because he told Jesus he had followed the commandments his whole life, but he wanted specifics about what he needed to do to gain eternal life.
I think the thing that struck me when I read and reread the scripture from Luke, and the scripture from Micah 6 from the discussion on Sunday, is that we need to ask the Lord what we need to do and then we need to have the faith that God will help us with the specific things we are being asked to do.
In the discussion on Sunday, people listed a variety of ways that they do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with God. They included everything from praising and thanking God to acknowledging other humans with a smile or serving others in their jobs or in their volunteer work within the church or within the community.
I think that is all wonderful, but I also think the scripture from Luke reminds us that the Lord also wants us to step out of our comfort zone at times so we need to be willing to first ask then have faith that Jesus and the Holy Spirit will guide us through whatever we are asked to do. I think that is the disconnect with the young man – he put more faith in his money than in Jesus. It’s easy to do – we have a seemingly “sure” thing – we have our health, we live comfortably in a home, etc., but God does sometimes ask us to step out in faith. First step – ask. Second step – have faith that the Lord will see us through.
by Janet Waryck
For Pondering and Prayer
What new things can we try? There are many opportunities within the church and outside of the church.
Maybe join a ministry team – delivering communion, making soup, music, teaching children.
Maybe joining a community group, donating time, money, or food to an agency, or maybe take a bag the next time you go walking and pick up trash.
There are a million things that we can participate in! Start with prayer and let the Sprit lead!
Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to be open to what you would want us to do – not just to obtain eternal life, but to enhance the lives of others and our own lives here and now. Give us the faith and courage to step out of our comfort zones to do your will and to know that you will be with us in all we do for you. Amen.
