Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “Final Step Into Eternity”.
The synoptic gospels are so called because they have many of the same accounts of Jesus ministry in common. One account that all three recall is the exchange between Jesus and a certain rich young ruler.
This young ruler ascribed the attribute of “total and complete” goodness to Jesus which Jesus said belongs to God alone. Jesus here does not deny His divinity by denying He possess this quality. He asks him however why is he as ascribing this divine attribute to Him.
The young man asked Jesus a question that fewer people in today’s society seem to be asking. That question was and is “what must I do to inherit or receive eternal life?”. It would seem he asked this question because he believed eternal life was something he could have and also something he desired.
It would also seem that most people who have asked this question and are still asking today believed the same thing. The answer seems to be that fewer people desire eternal life or believe it is attainable or some combination of both. No matter what the reason is, the need for salvation has not changed.
All of humanity still have a soul to be saved or one to be lost. The encounter with the rich young ruler reveals a process in receiving salvation. Processes involves steps and Jesus told him there were two steps to fulfill the answer to his question.
The first was to obey God. The last and final step was to sell all he had, distribute the proceeds to the poor, take up his cross and follow Jesus. This second and final step proved more that he was willing to part with and do in exchange for eternal life.
Jesus remarked to his other disciples and followers how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God. What was it about his riches that refused to allow him to part with them for eternal life? Or was it the part about taking up his cross that proved too much?
We cannot know for sure because we don’t know what was in his mind and heart. But we may be able to reasonably conclude that he did not believe or he was unsure it was a fair or equitable exchange. I suspect this is the same reason why we fail to see strong commitments of faith and practice in many who consider or refer to themselves as Christians today.
For those of us like this we are being asked to part with something we don’t see as a fair or equitable exchange for that we do see and have in the here and now. And like the rich young ruler, many are walking away with what we are unwilling to part with instead of committing to a life of commitment and sacrifice for Jesus and the kingdom of God.
More so than possibly any other time, doubts are being raised about the plausibility of the gospel and its ability to deliver the eternal life it promises. The young man knew what he had. He wasn’t sure eternal life and the prospect of achieving it was worth risking all he had along with the sacrifice Jesus was calling him to.
We too are faced with his same choice. Is eternal life, a promise for something we don’t yet have, and the sacrifice and commitment to the teachings of God worth letting go of the pursuit and fulfillment of our own personal ambitions and desire apart from God in order to save not only our own soul, but the souls of our fellow human beings. This was the ruler’s choice and it is ours as well.
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Pastor Jordan
