Matthew 19:16 NLT
Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”
The question this man was asking of Jesus was, “How do I get to heaven?”
“What do I have to do to get into heaven?”
Matthew 19:17 NLT
“Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.”
The man asking this question was a rich, young ruler. He had everything he thought he needed. He was looking for confirmation from God Himself.
In some Bible translations, the rich, young man refers to Jesus as “Good teacher,” which would have meant he believed that Jesus was God.
He had a good career.
He was rich.
He thought he had it going on.
Matthew 19:17 NLT
“Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.”
The rich, young ruler, thinking he had it, pressed forward another question, and Jesus replied.
Matthew 19:18-19 NLT
“Which ones?” the man asked. And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
Matthew 19:20 NLT
“I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?”
Still thinking he had it figured out, he continued asking what HE must do to get into heaven.
Matthew 19:21 NLT
Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Matthew 19:22 NLT
But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Based on my study of scripture, I believe that there is not one person meant to go to heaven that will not make it to heaven.
With that said, why would we have stories like this in the Bible?
These stories are not here to convince people to believe in God and accept Jesus Christ; these stories help those who do believe in Jesus to understand what we need to know and prepare ourselves for our lives in eternity.
The rich, young ruler left sad because of the attachments that he had to things that he had accumulated in this world.
As believers in Jesus Christ, our attachments to the things of this world will increasingly decrease as we move forward. And it should.
When we start to live our lives based on God’s Word, there are promises of blessings. But we’re stubborn; we pay more attention to things that we accumulate in this world while giving up something we can have for eternity.
I’m giving away my age by this reference, but it’s like Wimpy from the Popeye cartoons: “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.”
Matthew 6:20-21 NLT
Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
If we are honest with ourselves, we can see where our hearts are by where we spend our money and how we spend our time.
Are we investing our money and our time to store up treasures in heaven?
Heavenly Father, Thank You. Thank You for Your grace and mercy. Thank You for Your Word.
I pray that You continue to work in my heart to understand Your Word, and I pray that Your Word will open up my eyes to the change that I need to make in my mind and my heart.
I thank You for the people in my life, and I pray that I serve them with You center in my heart.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️
