Rich, Young, and Ruling

Day 29: Matthew 19:13-30

“Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” - Matthew 19:21-22 ESV

This man who came to Jesus had it all. He was wealthy and influential. He was young, with his entire life ahead of him. Even better than that, he was an avid rule follower when it came to the Law of Moses. Jesus grills him with the section of the 10 Commandments that deals with how we treat others, and he checked out just fine.

Yet, he apparently feels like something is missing. Have you ever felt like this? You've done what you can to live a pretty moral life. You treat others with fairness and compassion. Even so, there is still a feeling of incompleteness inside. For many of us, it could be a form of idolatry that we've been ignoring.

For this man, it was his wealth. He clearly trusted in money more than in God. Rich, young, and ruling; still, he knew he was lacking.

Is there anything in our lives currently that we'd be unwilling to give up for the sake of following Jesus?

Writing about these verses, H.D.M. Spence-Jones gives us an excellent picture of what Jesus was asking of this Rich Young Ruler:

"Thou shalt obtain that which thou desirest, eternal life. Not that stripping one’s self of goods and giving to the poor does necessarily ensure the great reward, but, in this youth’s case, such a sacrifice, such a victory over the besetting sin, would be the turning-point in his character, and enable him to conquer all lesser temptations, and win the prize of his high calling." - Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). St. Matthew (Vol. 2, p. 249)

"Father, we want to be completely aware of growth areas in our lives. Would you reveal those to us today? In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen."