Today in church we read about the rich young ruler. He asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to be saved?” Of course, he already thought he was good enough to be saved. He was elite, he had money, properties, servants and all the other things rich people have.
"Why call me good? Only God is good," said Jesus.
You know the story, Jesus gave him a list of commandments. Honor his parents, treat his neighbors well, don’t murder or steal: live his life right. The young man replied that he’d always done those things.
Then Jesus gave the kicker, “sell all your possessions and come follow Me”.
The rich man backed away in horror, and sadness. Give away everything? That would certainly be the American Nightmare. Our dream is to collect it all. I could understand his recoil. How sad for me, too.
I often thought the rich man might have had some reason besides greed to hang onto his stuff. A man in his position probably employed a lot of people. Slaves or servants. People who depended on his riches to feed their families, maybe. How could he be so irresponsible as to just “give it away”?
Today, though, it occurred to me that God has a plan for all of us. How many intentions did not happen for all those people because the rich young ruler could not give up his riches? What great stories never happened? What might have been missed in those lives? Wow.
It seems that our obedience to God might have more impact on others around us than we know.
“Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” Luke 18:22b.
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