Empty Hands are Open Hands....

Is there anything that is so valuable that you would trade everything you own for it? This would not just be your extra stuff or what you could afford to lose; rather, it would be every single tangible possession you currently own plus your inheritance, current comfort and future plans. More importantly, if Christ asked you to lose it all or to trade it away so that you could enter into His eternal kingdom, would you do so?   In a portion of today's passage, Mark 10: 17-22, we see a wealthy young man who faces this all-important question. Let’s look at these verses together and see how he responds and how this story applies to each of our lives today. 

“And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth. And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions" (Mark 10:17-22).

What an interesting dialog between this wealthy young man and Jesus. As we learn in this passage, this man came to Jesus running and kneeling (verse 17). At first glance, he looked humble. He was urgent, respectful and spiritually serious. Furthermore, by worldly standards, he was "good". However, by looking deeper, we see that he did not understand the very important truth that Jesus is God. We know this because he addressed Jesus as “good teacher” (verse 17) instead of using a divine title such as "Lord". Additionally, by thinking that Jesus was not deity and also seeing Him as good, this man clearly believed that humans can earn eternal life. However, Holy Scripture tells us otherwise because, as Romans 3:23 states, "all have sinned and have fallen short of God's glory." In response to this man's inquiry, Jesus responded with the following simple question and very direct statement: “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone" (verse 18). Obviously, by responding this way, Jesus was acknowledging this wealthy young man's flawed thinking on both counts. Following this, Jesus points Him to the specific six commandments concerning how one should treat others (their neighbors). In verse 20, the man responded to Jesus by saying, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” However, again referring to the truth stated in Romans 3:23, no human can keep the commandments perfectly. So, to expose this truth to this man, Jesus places a metaphorical neighbor in front of him and tells him to sell everything that he has and to give the proceeds to the poor (verse 21). Suddenly, this man's required obedience was no longer theoretical, but real. He must take proactive action to obey.  Now, we must recognize that Jesus did not add an additional  requirement to inherit eternal life; rather, Jesus was simply exposing this man’s true heart; that he could not, in reality and on his own merit, release all of his possesions in order to give to the neighbor that he claimed to love. Furthermore, Jesus also exposed that, while this man claimed to honor God, He, in fact, had another god (his wealth and possessions) that he refused to surrender. The result, as verse 22 tells us, was that the man went away sorrowful. 

Now, while the above story occurred at one specific time and involved one specific person, it represents the choice that all of us living today must make. The reality is this: In order to inherit eternal life, you must be humble enough to admit that you are not good enough to gain it on your own merits; instead, you must fully trust in Christ's goodness alone to enter into His Kingdom.  Furthermore, while God most likely will not require you to sell all of your possessions, He will require you to relinquish whatever earthly treasure that your heart currently stores and to wholeheartedly follow Him. If you, like this wealthy young man, are unwilling to do these things, eternal life will not be yours. However, you can make a better choice by humbly admitting that your hands are not clean, but instead are filled with broken, earthly treasure. Then, you can relinquish what you treasure most and, with open hands, accept Christ’s invitation for the heavenly treasure of eternal life and choose to wholeheartedly follow Him. Friend, If you have not done so already, will you accept Christ's invitation for eternal life today?....

To learn how you can inherit eternal life, click here.

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