Pursuing Lasting Riches

Luke 18:18-30 

Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler

18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

19 So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 20 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"

21 And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."

22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

With God All Things Are Possible

24 And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

26 And those who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?"

27 But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."

28 Then Peter said, "See, we have left all and followed You."

29 So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."

Jesus made it clear that to follow Him means letting go of everything we hold dear in this life as we turn from our sin to Him.  Repentance must lead to the willingness to count the cost and follow the Lord on His terms and not our own negotiated agreements.  We like to imagine that He only expects a few token areas of our obedience and that all others are legalistic obligations which undo grace.  What we say then is that He is not worthy of all our lives as we forget that He gave all of His in the suffering and rejection of us all which led to the tortuous cross in our place to deliver that grace of forgiveness and reconciliation to holiness.  The rich man Jesus spoke to who came to ask what he had to do to inherit eternal life expected a legalistic answer to follow the key commandments as Jesus reminded him.  But He first reminded the man who was good, and that was God alone (who Jesus was) as a clue that following the commandments was not enough (James 2:10); we have to follow Him who alone can keep those laws of God fully, God Himself among us (Immanuel).  We do this work of God to earn salvation as He told us in John 6:29 which is believing and receiving Him and His perfect work to earn our salvation.  One sign of this commitment to follow was for the rich man who clung to his possessions as much as the imperfect keeping of the moral commands of God was the sign of letting loose his grip on the wealth he had accumulated (Matthew 6:19-21) and relied on for his significance and security.  These had to be handed over to the Lord to truly follow Him with an unadulterated heart of reciprocal commitment.  Therefore when Jesus told the rich man to sell everything, give to the needy, and then follow, the man refused to do that.  He was sad to have to lose his earthly possessions to gain heavenly ones because he did not value the essentials.  Certainly we do not all have to give away all we have to follow Christ, but if we are not willing to do so if He requires from us, then our heart is divided and we also will be sorrowful as we count the cost of discipleship and choose ourselves and the passing possessions which we leave behind in the end anyway.  Our hearts are where our treasures lie, either here or beyond the sky in heaven above.  Jesus told us how difficult it is for those who have so much in this life to trust Him and follow by letting go of all from the heart.  He used the literal picture of the extreme impossibility of a large camel going through the eye of a tiny needle as an illustration of the difficulty of letting go of our money and possessions (Matthew 6:24) to serve one master completely.  Those around Jesus asked the question we all put to Him, “Who then can be saved?” and heard the answer.  It is only possible by God’s working in the human heart which is spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:5, Romans 5:8) by opening our eyes and ears to hear and turn wholeheartedly to Him and to receive Him and His work as He calls and draws us to Himself (John 6:44) to change our hearts and minds to leave all and follow Him willingly and without reservation as the disciples (Matthew 4:19-20, 19:27, 29) did.  We who value Him more will inherit more in eternity than anyone could ever even dream about in this life, so let us pursue the things (Matthew 6:19, Romans 14:19, 1 Timothy 6:11) which last and do not rot or rust as they all turn to dust.  We are to be pursuing lasting riches with a heavenly view of eternity.