As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “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: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬-‭22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Another great “Sunday School” story, one that some of us learned when we were knee high to a grasshopper!

…but what is the heart of this story? 

A young man, possibly a Pharisee, thoroughly comfortable with his religion and his money, yet restless inside, came to Jesus. Something was missing. Perhaps, while he was watching, listening, puzzling…Jesus had made a deep impression on him.  

What was it about Jesus that held him spellbound? Jesus had an aura of peace, of security, of authority, of not being caught up in the stresses of life but living above them in another “realm”, that fascinated him. Jesus seemed to be in a space which didn’t depend on circumstances for the serenity that seemed to encase Him. 

Jesus portrayed something he wanted…together with his wealth and comfort, that would make his life perfect. Perhaps there was something he could do that would transport him into the same realm in which Jesus lived. 

When Jesus questioned him about his religious life, he was confident of his performance. Nothing lacking in his strict adherence to the rules, so he thought. He was obviously raised in a strictly orthodox family. He was a stickler for rules. He would have to look elsewhere for the cause of his emptiness inside. Perhaps there was one elusive “thing” he had not yet “done” to fill that hole. 

Jesus smartly diagnosed the heart of his problem. He put His finger squarely on one big obstacle. In the place where Jesus should have been Lord, owning, filling, and directing his life including his bank account, was his wealth and possessions. Instead, his claim to obedience to the law was exposed, a lie! The greatest commandment of all, to love God with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength, lay in tatters. 

All this man’s “doing” had no heart. It’s no wonder he felt empty and dissatisfied. He, like so many of his own countrymen, was drinking at the wrong fountain. He was trying to quench his thirst for authentic life, for that connection with God that gave life its true meaning and purpose, through earthly substitutes. 

What was the solution? For him it was not “let Jesus have control of your money”! Jesus knew that his love of money and possessions would always clash with loyalty to Him.  The principle is clear…

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This young man already had a master. The only functional solution was “get rid of your money…your master…and put your trust in me!”

He could not “have his cake and eat it”.  There was no such thing as wealth plus Jesus. Hs wealth was not an addition…it was an obstacle. 

The only solution to this man’s issue was to dump forever his notion that doing something was the answer and keep his money in place. The real issue was about “who or what is your master?”

For us, as for him, there is nothing we can add to everything we have and everything we have already tried to do to earn God’s acceptance. One more “doing”, however noble it might seem to be, only compounds our guilt before God. 

The only solution is to cut ties with money, possessions, people, ideologies, beliefs, practices, habits…whatever or whoever is master! There can only be one master…

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭9‬

Lord! Supreme authority! 

This is the only solution to our empty hearts and restless souls, to cut loose, once and for all, from confidence in all our stuff and the notion that we can “do” something to inherit eternal life. Everything that needed “doing” has been done to save us from our self-destroying lives, including our past, present, and future. 

Here’s the solution…

“For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Did the rich young man mean what he said? Did he really want eternal life? 

“At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭10‬:‭22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, he chose to drink the polluted water of wealth and possessions to the end of his days at the expense of eternal life! He continued to “do” what  Jesus had already “done” for him.