I am sure most of you have heard the story about the rich young ruler. Can you in any way identify with him?
In Mark 10:17-21, the rich young ruler who wanted to know what he could do to inherit eternal life went to Jesus asking questions. Jesus gives him a list of ethical commandments and tells him that if he does all these, he will enter the kingdom of God. Jesus’ answer pleases him, and he professes his own conformity. Indeed, even if he did obey those commands, this young man was still missing something — Jesus catches him on the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me”. Seeing that he worships the idols of wealth and social status, Jesus tells him to sell his goods and follow Him. But the man is not satisfied, and he refuses to let go of his riches.
This man turned his back on Jesus because he thought Jesus was asking too much of him. This is true for many of us, Jesus is asking us to lay aside our idols and follow him, but we turn our backs on Him because we think that He is asking too much of us.
Like the rich young ruler, many of us think that being a good citizen is enough. That’s what society teaches us; that being good and doing good is enough—but that’s where the problem lies. We cannot enter God’s kingdom simply by doing good and being good. Remember, “apart from God there is no good in us.” If we were good then Jesus wouldn’t need to die on the cross for us. You cannot rely on your moral behaviour to inherit the life of the age to come.
The rich young ruler was bluntly denied the possibility of entering the kingdom because of prideful confidence. That should somehow tell us that there’s a need for us to totally humble ourselves and realise that we cannot enter God’s kingdom on our own merit.
How can I inherit eternal life, you ask? Lay aside all your idols; money, status, power, and every other thing that takes the place of God, and follow Him. There’s no shortcut!
Not all of us will be asked to sell everything that we have, but all of us are commanded to set aside any idol that may be present in our lives. We must all give up relying on our own efforts to earn salvation and instead embrace the GRACE that alone can redeem us from the curse of sin and death.
Entering God’s kingdom is dependent solely on His redemption. Are you depending on Him or are you depending on your own good works? If you are depending on your own good works, then confess that and your need of Him alone to save you.
Angelisa is a Jesus enthusiast, Worship leader & Christian youth leader. She considers herself to be the old-fashioned type of girl who loves spicy food and belly bottom laughter. Among her passions are singing, working with children, and encouraging others.
Amoy is intent on fulfilling God’s will and purpose for her life. She is a celebrity publicist, a proud Jamaican, a writer, an international speaker, a media practitioner and a published author. She loves all things luxury and is on a mission to become one of the wealthiest women from her island and in the world. 40 under 40, is that you?