"What must I do to inherit eternal life?" That was a common question asked of rabbis in Jesus's day, because with the destruction of the nation they needed to know how one defined who were the heirs to the promises of God. The typical answer to the question would be those who obey the commandments, just the kind of answer Jesus appeared to give. The interesting thing was that Jesus listed the commandments from the second table--the ones dealing with our relationship to others. He mentioned murder, adultery, stealing, bearing false witness, defrauding, and honoring parents; he left out the first table and the command about coveting. Jesus had already sized up the man. He knew where he was lacking. This man had another God--his possessions.The man felt he had done well when it came to obeying what was written in the law, and Jesus did not accuse him of lying. Jesus was willing to carry on the conversation. It was if he said, "Okay, if you want to justify yourself, you still lack one thing." Then he told him to sell everything he had, give the money to the poor, and come follow him.
Often people try to make the leap from this story that money is evil. That isn't the point of the story at all. Money is not the root of all evil. Where would we be today without money? No, it is not money that is the root of all evil; it is the love of money that can be the root of many kinds of evil.
The real problem for the man in this story was not that he was rich. The actual problem was that God was not so real to him he was able to recognize the insignificance of other things; he had placed his riches and the requirements of the law ahead of his relationship with God. The point of this story is that it is our relationship with God that is important. Whatever gets in the way of that relationship is what is sin in our lives. It is portrayed well by Eugene Webb in his book, Lord, You Must Be Joking. In it he tells what he believed was the rest of the story.
He begins with Rico, the name he gave the man in our text for today, sitting down to a dinner party with several friends. Rico begins relating the encounter with Jesus. Each of his friends were as shocked as he was to hear what Jesus had told him. They accused Jesus of being down on the wealthy because he himself was poor, and they were sure that if he were wealthy he would have an entirely different opinion:
"Which is the point," said Sylvia. "There are no rich prophets. You can be as bold as he only if you have nothing to lose!"
The group laughed heartily and toasted Sylvia. "Which is my point!" shouted Rico.
The group went silent, then grumbled noisily its inability to respond to Rico's question. Suddenly their gaze was directed to a young child entering in night clothes and approaching their host. Rico softened and smiled as he opened his arms to his daughter.
"Come in honey," he said. "What do I have to do to get a good night kiss from Jessica?" "Wrong question, Papa," she answered as she was lifted onto Rico’s lap.
"Wrong question? What do you mean, darling?" Jessica responded. Papa, you don't have to do nothing to get my kisses. They are free, just because I love you." She kissed her father, slid from his lap and proceeded out of the room. Rico's face was pale. Tears trickled from his eyes. And no one could speak.
The little girl exhibited pure grace, just like salvation. That was Jesus's whole point when he answered the disciples' question about who can be saved by saying, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible." It is only because of what God has chosen to do for us through Christ that we can be saved.
In Jesus Christ we are shown what God is like. Even during his encounter with the self-righteous man Jesus could still look at him and love him. Jesus looks at us with those same eyes as he invites us to discipleship. He peers through us to lay our souls bear. Through his Word, which is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow;…able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart," he speaks to us. He invites us to give up whatever it is that is hindering our relationship with God, and turn and follow him. What is that one thing more that you lack? Do you need to forgive someone? Do you need to be more diligent in your study or prayer life? Do you need to commit to worshiping each and every Sunday? Does God want you to give of yourself in service to others in some way you are not doing now? Does God want you to be a better witness for him or invite someone to church? Does God want you to make a renewed commitment to work on your marriage or be a better parent? Does God want you to be a more diligent worker or student? Is there some sin God wants you to turn away from? Just what is it that God sees in you that is not yet Christlike?
Friends, I don't know what it is that Jesus sees that you lack or need to give up. What I do know is that God loves you in spite of it. Jesus went to the cross because he loved you and me that much. We don't have to "do" anything to inherit eternal life. No one does anything to inherit something. People inherit things because of their relationship with the person who owned whatever it was. We inherit eternal life because we are children of God through Jesus's death on the cross.
That doesn't let us off the hook, however. We still need to be in relationship with God to inherit eternal life. We cannot let anything take the place of our Lord. He is still to take top priority in our lives.
This relationship will naturally show itself in action. It will show itself in how we treat others. It will show itself in how we fill out our pledge cards and time and talent forms. It will show itself in how regular we are in worship. It will show itself in whether or not we attend Bible study or Sunday School.
It will also go deeper than our actions, however, since God sees our hearts. We may be able to fake out other people, but we can't fool God. He gets down to our very soul. He knows our intentions, our hopes, our dreams, and where he fits into the scheme of things. He wants to occupy top place in our lives because he not only made us, he sacrificed himself for us. He wants to have a love relationship with us.
That relationship needs to be fostered, celebrated, and displayed. It is fostered by Scripture study and prayer. It is celebrated through worship and shown by our generosity and loving actions toward others.
There are great rewards in this relationship. It’s kind of like a poor person getting married to the richest person in the world--all sorts of doors open with new possibilities never imagined prior to this relationship. Suddenly your whole identity is changed and all of life is transformed.
Jesus promises a reward for following him as well. The call to discipleship is a call to "real living." Disciples know their importance to God. We have an ear in the throne room. Our beloved rules the world. When Jesus’s disciples were wondering what was in it for them seeing as they had sacrificed for him, he told them,"‘Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age--houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions--and in the age to come eternal life.’" Relationship has its privileges--families and homes and places to work, but they come with a price. They come with the cost of being thought a fanatic for placing God first in your life. They come with the ridicule of being called names for insisting there are things that are right and there are things that are wrong and that "anything goes" is not an acceptable philosophy of life.
No one wants this life unless by grace a miracle happens in their hearts. It is pure gift. One thing we do know is this, the eternal life that we are granted, the relationships with our fellow believers, the opportunities we gain in serving others in this life, and having access to God’s throne of grace, are well worth any cost involved by way of persecution or self-denial. So brothers and sisters, listen for what God is telling you that you still lack and ask him to help you do whatever he is calling you to do, then rejoice for your reward is great; you are a child of the King!