“Then, looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, “You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭10:21‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

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Jesus did not see this man coming and roll His eyes and think, “Oh boy what does this guy want now.” I am sure He already knew that this was going to happen and the heart of the one who would approach Him. But Jesus turned to him and with love in His eyes said, “you lack one thing.” Jesus was not judgmental toward him but was kind. Jesus was not pointing fingers but was welcoming him in. 


After going through the 10 commandments Jesus had revealed to this young man that he was on the right path, but one thing stood between him and Jesus. And that was His money. His wealth had become a god to him. Maybe he had acquired his wealth in a nonethical way. Jesus never corrected him on this but He does command him to sell all that he had and follow Him. 


This is not a command to all Christians Christians to be poor because in verses 27 and 28 we discover that Jesus promises that whatever we leave behind we will gain 100 times more in this life, more on that in a few days. But it is a command of God to all Christians to let go of our stuff and give it to God to use as He sees fit. It is not our place to say to God, “I have this car and I will use it as I see fit!” but rather we should be saying, “God you gave me this car and I will drive it responsibly. I will act like you while I am behind the wheel. And whenever you have need of it use it.” 


“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭14:12‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

https://www.bible.com/72/pro.14.12.hcsb


“All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord evaluates the motives.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭21:2‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

https://www.bible.com/72/pro.21.2.hcsb


What is standing between us and our God today? I will tell you everyone has something! Since we are on this side of eternity we are not perfected yet so there is something between us and God, but God does not point fingers at us or look to condemn us, but He is welcoming us into His presence. He wants to remove whatever is standing between us and Him. Will we let Him? Will this rich young ruler do as Jesus commanded to remove the obstacle between him and eternal life? 


“I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

https://www.bible.com/72/php.1.6.hcsb


“Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3:12-14‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

https://www.bible.com/72/php.3.12-14.hcsb


“For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person — though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:6-8‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

https://www.bible.com/72/rom.5.6-8.hcsb


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