As Jesus was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.” And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” At that saying his countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.
- St. Mark 10:17-22
A young man who seemed to have everything the world has to offer came to Jesus because he felt a prompting in his heart. There was something he lacked. He wanted the kind of peace and happiness which money could not buy him, and he came to Jesus in the hope that what he wanted could be found. But the answer given to him was not what he wanted. The solution was too demanding for him.
Jesus spoke of the trouble that was deep in the heart of this young man, the one thing that kept him from giving himself whole-heartedly to God. He was too possessive of things. So when Jesus challenged him to make God his one true treasure, all the young man could do was to go away sad. The young man looked for happiness and security in what he possessed rather than in the One Whom he could love and serve and to Whom he could give himself; namely, God.
Jesus tells His disciples to "sell all" for the treasure of His kingdom. And what defines what treasure is? The thing we most set our heart on is our highest treasure, and Jesus wants us to understand that God Himself is the greatest treasure we can have. Giving up everything else to have the Lord as our treasure is not a cause for sorrow, but rather, it brings the greatest joy. Jesus tells us to let go of anything that might stand in the way of loving God first and foremost in our lives – anything that stops us from giving Him the very best we can with our time and with our lives.
________________________________
Painting: "Christ and the Rich Young Ruler"
by Heinrich Hofmann (1824-1911)