Jesus, say what? Why the free gift of eternal life will cost you.

Jesus was walking down the dusty path, as He did most everyday of His life on earth, only to encounter another interruption, another question, another person on their knees, another real life situation to handle, another need to meet. The question He was asked this time did not surprise Him, for He was asked this question time and time again…What must I do to have eternal life? Such is the question everyone wants to ask; yet no one wants to hear the answer because Jesus always makes it personal and it always comes at a cost.

As was the case for this man on this particular day for he was a good man, one who had not murdered, committed adultery, stolen from others, or dishonored his parents. Yet for Jesus, this wasn’t enough. It wasn’t the answer to the ultimate question. Jesus, looking at him with loving eyes, knew that because of this man’s riches, his treasure wasn’t heaven, it was his own possessions.

How disheartened this young man must have been, he had lived a good life, done well for himself, and yet it seems it was all for not. Maybe he wanted to hear, “I’m proud of you for living a good life” or “Just keep doing what you are doing and you’ll be just fine.” Whatever the case, what he heard ripped his heart out. The very idea that he had to give up everything he had worked so hard to gain was a thought he could not bear. This man heard the very thing he hoped he would not hear, namely “If you want to have eternal life…give it all away!” You see the answer to the ultimate question is ultimate sacrifice. You don’t want to hear the answer to eternal life if you are in love with this one.

I’m remind of this passage in Isaiah…

Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over; their images are consigned to the beasts and the cattle. The things that you carry are burdensome, a load for the weary beast. They stooped over, they have bowed down together, they could not rescue the burden, but have themselves gone into captivity.

Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, You who have been borne by Me from birth. And have been carried from the womb; Even to your old age will be the same, And even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; and I will bear you and I will deliver you. (Isa 46:1-4)

As in the case of the rich young ruler, we have the option of carrying our own burdens or letting the Lord carry them for us. For many of us the thought of letting go is too hard, too much sacrifice, too much of a cost. We have deceived ourselves into thinking we are okay on our own; after all we’ve come this far without help. After all, “we’ve got it all together, just leave us alone.” It is a wonder our backs don’t break with the load we carry.

We can complain about how hard life can be; yet we are unwilling to give up the weight. We keep trying to do the best we can, although our best will never be good enough. We keep wondering what it will take one day to have eternal life, even though we may not really want the answer!

Pastor Wes