Scripture

Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”

Observation

Some parents bring their children to Jesus for Him to bless them. The disciples turn them away. But Jesus says, “Let the children come to me. The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these little children.”

A rich man asks Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus lists,some commandments of the law. The man replies that he has obeyed all these commandments.

Jesus then tells him he must sell all of his possessions and give the money to the poor, and he will have treasure in heaven.

The young man goes away very sad.

Application

This young man was trapped by his riches. His possessions literally held him captive.

By naming his idol. Jesus gives the man the opportunity to be freed from it to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We don’t know if he later repented and followed Jesus.

An idol is anything that gets in the way of following Jesus. For some people, like this young man, the problem is money. For others, it can be family, career, power or love.

We don’t all have to sell our possessions and take a vow of poverty in order to follow Jesus. But we do all have to let go of those things that are more important to us than He is.

We talk glibly of giving our hearts to the Lord. What He wants is all of us- every passion, desire and ambition.

Only when we surrender everything to the Lord can we be certain of eternal life.

Prayer

Lord, please show me what I need to surrender to you and give me the grace to do it. Amen.