Dear Friends, I recently heard a sermon on receiving eternal
life and inheriting a full life as it was meant to be lived on earth that I
want to share with you!
The scripture I want to talk about is Matthew 19:16-22:
16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life ?” 17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 “Which ones?” he inquired.Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” 20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
The question that the man is asking here is quite simple, he
asks Jesus how he will get eternal life. And what he means by eternal life is a
full life that starts now on earth! I think we can all relate to this question,
at least I know I can. Because in some
way or another, each one of us has already answered this question for
ourselves, in fact, our own answer is most likely driving a significant portion
of our lives. Because we are all seeking a significant and full life, one that
will last beyond our years, one that is eternal. And so fellow greek sisters and brothers, I
challenge you to ask yourself, what does your life say is the answer to how you
get eternal life?
Now, if you’re like me than you are probably feeling a
little convicted at this point, I realize so often in my own life that I tend
to take the bible as good advice, instead of seeing it as it is—the Word of God
who is our only source of life! Even the rich man in the passage does this,
notice how in verse 17 he calls Jesus, “teacher.” And while yes, Jesus was a
teacher, he certainly spent a lot of time speaking and teaching to people about
God, but it is important that we don’t limit Jesus to simply a teacher, because
Jesus is soooooo much more than just a good teacher.
If we simply limit Jesus to being a good teacher, we as sinful
and selfish humans are not likely to take his advice to heart. How often do we
as college students tend to question what our professors say, or the advice
that they give. Jesus is not just a
teacher, he is the source of life, eternal life! We know this because in John
10:10 Jesus says, “The
thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have
life, and have it to the full.” Notice in this
passage Jesus doesn’t say I have come to teach
them how to have life, no He, God in the flesh, has come so that we might
receive the undeserved gift of eternal life through His death and resurrection on
the Cross! Wow!!!!
If we read on in the passage you may say, wait a minute,
why does Jesus list off a whole set of commandments that this man must follow
to receive eternal life? While I dont really know what Jesus was thinking, the most likely answer is that Jesus knew this man’s heart, he
knew that the rich man did not regard Jesus as King. Jesus also knew that there was one thing this
man loved more than anything else…. Money! And so when Jesus says, “go, sell your possessions and give to the
poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” I
think he actually means it! Now, this is not to say that we all should go and
do this. But what Jesus is saying here is that he wants all of us! Jesus, our King,
wants us to submit EVERYTHING we have to Him, to the one who is good, as it
says in verse 17. You see dear friends; the God we serve is a jealous God who
wants all of our hearts to be captivated by Him. And for the rich man, money
was the one thing that he was unwilling to let go of in order to follow
Jesus. The irony in all of this is that
the rich man would experience a true richness of life if he really would just
let go of his money and learn to regard Jesus as far more precious.
Friends, we
really can experience Christ and the abundant life here and now if we are
willing to submit our lives to the King. The best part...... is that God is not a
stingy God who is holding out on us, no rather when we submit our earthy
possessions and treasures to Him, we receive much more in fullness of joy from
our Creator, who knows exactly what we need to be satisfied!
Some questions to ask yourself in reflection
are:
1)
What is keeping me from submitting my life to
God?
2)
What areas of my life is Jesus calling me to submit
to Him?
3)
In what ways has Jesus been generous to me?
The
Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven
and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or
authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold
together. -Colossians 1:15-17
Written by Michelle Faucett
