Have you ever read something in the Bible and thought, "that's not me!" and moved on?
Reading Matthew 19 today.
"Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
"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."
"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, honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'"
"All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"
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."
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth." Matthew 19:16- -22 (NIV)
I'm not rich, so it's easy to dismiss this one.
For years I have read this and thought, "well, since I don't have an abundance of cash lying around I can move on to the next thing Jesus has to say, this one doesn't apply to me."
But something stood out to me this morning. It was the question the man asks Jesus, "What do I still lack?"
He was living as he should, but he knew there was something missing. He had a nagging question inside of him that needed answering. So when he saw Jesus, he asked the question.
"What do I still lack?"
Are we willing to ask this question of the Lord?
What will we do with the answer?
This account is not in the Gospel simply as a warning to rich people. It is a warning to us all. If we ask that question of the Lord, what will we do with his answer?
This is not about money and following God. It is about our response to God when he puts his finger on something in our life that needs to change.
Will we trust and obey him? Or will we walk away sad, realizing we cannot give up whatever it is he is asking us to?
What do I still lack?
