Good, But Not Good Enough
“And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS; HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Again I say to you, 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.” When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”
(Matthew 19:16-26).
Today’s Scripture passage describes a man who may seem quite familiar. Church tradition calls him the “rich young ruler,” but you probably know him as “coworker,” “fellow church member” or even “friend.” You see, the tale of the rich young ruler is alive and well today.
This character reveals one of the fundamental errors of the Christian life: he thought salvation was something he could earn. He came to Jesus because he wanted eternal life. However, as the story unfolds, we get the definite impression that he was simply looking for a formula of good deeds that would produce the desired results. Simply put, he wanted to check “salvation” off his lifetime “to-do” list.
Jesus saw through his well-meaning exterior and evaluated the condition of his heart. Then He cut through the pretense and went to the core of the matter. He told the man to let go of that which gave him the greatest sense of security – his wealth. Unwilling to do so, the man left Jesus sorrowfully. He knew he could not surrender his true love: money.
Was Jesus saying all believers must give up their money in order to receive eternal life? Certainly not. The Lord was instead stressing a point that is still essential today: Anything that is more important to you than faithfulness to God must be removed from your life. Period. The rich young ruler had done some good, but his good wasn’t good enough. By what standard are you measuring your good – your own, or Jesus’ substitutionary death on our behalf? Only one is good enough.
About the Author
This article was written by Charles Stanley. You can read more about this author by clicking this link:
http://www.talk.thelife.com/charles-stanley/
This devotional is protected by copyright laws and may not be reprinted or posted to a site without permission from TruthMedia Internet Group. All readers are welcome to forward the devotional to a friend or link to it. If you would like to seek permission to reprint the devotional in full, please contact us:
http://www.truthmedia.com/contact/index.html
