“And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do so that I may obtain eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false testimony; Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to Him, “All these I have kept; what am I still lacking?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.” Matthew 19:16-22
I love in Mark’s Gospel telling of this event – Jesus looked at this young man and loved him (Mark 10:21). This man wants to be saved, achieving his reward. Jesus throws out a lifeline, follow the Commandments. He lists the last five. The man is proud, “all of these I’ve kept.” But, then Jesus drops the bombshell – sell everything, give up your world, then, follow Me.
The Commandments matter, Jesus affirms that to this man and to us. But, we can never forget the biggest of these Commandments – “love the Lord with all your heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Every Commandment lived to perfection fails without the heart living the prime Commandment to love God with all the heart, mind, body and soul, with all the strength of life.
This meditation strikes me especially hard today as I come before the Lord this day asking, “what must I do?”
Unlike the rich, young man, I can never lay claim even to having kept any of the Commandments all my life. I’ve shattered each one of them, many times over.
Sitting here in the dark, eyes on this story in my Bible, I call out to God, “how can I obtain eternal life with You, when I’ve failed so badly for so long?” And, I see Jesus looking at me in love. Not the scorn I deserve, but with true, deep love in His eyes, Jesus responds, “love Me. More than everything else, love Me. Give away your guilt and sin, give away your attachments and just trust My love. And, love Me.”
Jesus, I give You all I have and am. All my treasures are Yours to do with as You need. Lord, I give to you the most valuable gift I have, that of my heart. Help me to order this world correctly, putting love of God, love of You before everything else. And, as I do this, Lord, I ask you again to repeat Your call, “Follow Me.”