Luk. 18:22 ... "When Jesus heard this, He said to him, 'One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess, and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.'"
One day there came to Jesus a young ruler who was very rich and posed to Him this question, "What shall I do to obtain eternal life?" In essence Jesus told him to keep the Law of Moses, since it was still God's binding covenant with Israel. The young man answered that he had been keeping this Law from his youth. Jesus then told him there was one thing standing between him and eternal life -- his worldly possessions. It was necessary for him to convert them into money and distribute it to the poor. Through this great act of benevolence, he would invest real treasure in heaven.
As we survey this record, we must give credit to the young man. First, he had assessed his spiritual life and determined there was something lacking for him to inherit eternal life. He was not self-righteous with smug assurance that heaven was already his. Second, he was spiritually oriented. He believed there is a reward beyond this life, and he wanted to share in it. Furthermore, he had been devoting his life to keeping the Law from his earliest ability. And third, he recognized Jesus as the "Good Teacher" who could discern what he could not and then would instruct him in what he must do. These three credits are more than can be given to the majority of people today. In Mark's parallel account it adds that Jesus loved this individual, (10:21). He saw in him the fertile soil where the seed of God's word, if sown, would spring forth and yield the abundant harvest of a Christian life.
Jesus' answer initially might seem austere. It would be a very hard thing for anyone to liquidate all his possessions and give the money to the poor. One might think Jesus hates wealth and resents His disciples being wealthy. So He commands them to give it away to the poor as they get it. But this is a misrepresentation of Jesus' meaning. His real point is, for one to obtain eternal life, he must value that life more than anything else. That is, he must devote his energy, mental and physical, to the effort of preparing his soul to be fitted for life in heaven through eternity. In the young ruler's case Jesus saw something which meant more to him than eternal life; it was the great wealth he possessed. Matthew reports that "when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieved; for he was one who owned much property," (Mat. 19:22). Had he really valued eternal life most of all, he would have been overjoyed to learn that divesting himself of his wealth was the key to that great goal.
There is a valuable lesson for us in the record of this young man's encounter with Jesus. It should also be our desire to value eternal life more than anything else and readily give up whatever stands between us and that reward. For many of us the intervening thing might not be wealth. It might be the appetite for pleasure, worldly ambition, or pride in our talents, social standing, or achievements. What comes between you and regular Bible study? What can persuade you to neglect the assembly of the church at the appointed times? What can turn you away from the practice of frequently praying to God? What can influence you to refrain from standing up and speaking out for Jesus when His character is maligned? The answer to these questions, after careful and honest scrutiny of your nature, will probably answer the question, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" It is obvious we allow many barriers to exist between ourselves and the greatest of all rewards.
