And as he 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?” (10:17)
Observe well his question. I just told my disciples that whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. It means that you never earn the right to be a child of God and to receive the kingdom of God, you just receive this gift of the Father by his grace, through your faith.
This young man wanted to do something to merit eternal life. He was completely focused on what he can do, and not on what the loving Father wants to do. This is something extremely frequent on earth, people who want to get spiritual blessing with material actions or goods. What the Father wants is for people to come him as their heavenly Father, to learn to enter in fellowship with him through me. Yet, many persons don’t want this close relationship with us and would rather know what to do to please us. In fact, this attitude is very painful for us and we respond to them with the law. Like the people of Israel who did not want to listen to us but rather asked Moses to listen for them, and then they would do what he taught them, I led this man to the Ten Commandments.
And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” (10:18-19)
Since this young man did not see that I was the Son of God, I needed to correct him when he said ‘Good teacher’. Goodness belongs to God, and humans can only participate in this goodness. He wanted to be polite, yet his politeness was almost flattery, therefore I reminded him that God alone is good.
Then, since he did not show a desire for intimacy with God, but rather how to get something out of Him - eternal life, I responded like the Father had responded to the people of Israel: I spoke about some of the ‘Ten commandments’. These commandments were designed to encourage intimacy with us, to learn to not put anything about God and to spend time in His presence on the Sabbath, to learn to love your neighbor. We always have wanted for humans to learn to love, yet many want techniques to do ‘the right thing,’ while remaining the masters of their lives. So many don’t want a Father, even if it is a loving and perfect father, what they hope is that they will then be able to do what they want.
Eternal life is about knowing the Father and me, following our guidance, it is about dialogue and fellowship. It is not about following rules. The rules we gave, like the ten commandments, were designed to shepherd people to us, to teach how to put love for God and love for the neighbor first, to listen to us first, and to not let anything come into the way between them and us.
And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”
And Jesus, looking at him, love him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (10:20-22)
When this man said that he had kept all these from his youth, I had real compassion for him. He was really convinced that he did all things right. Yet, he was like a sheep without a shepherd, who focuses on external standards, without recognizing that in his heart there are many things that are not from God. One key element was that he did not put God first but wealth first. It was clear in his initial question about inheriting eternal life. You cannot inherit eternal life. It is not a good to get, but an intimate relationship with God. He saw spiritual life, eternal life, as an object that is valuable to acquire, so I gave him an answer corresponding to his approach, I invited him to sell all that he had, in order to get treasure in heaven. Once he would get rid of his ‘money focus,’ I invited him to move toward relationship with God by coming and following me.
The reality is that he was so focused on the wealth he had, that he did not even consider following me, he became very sad and went away full of sadness. He had seen the joy of the gospel, the love of God flowing through the life with my disciples, but he was still too much attached to things, to earthly possessions.
And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”
And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (10:23-25)
So many in your world think that earthly goods will give you security and happiness. This has never been and will never be the case. Harmonious and joyful relationships are the root of all happiness. Love is the foundation of happiness, love for God and love for your neighbor. We do all we can to show the way to happiness and to blessedness, but so many don’t want to see it. They prefer possessing objects to loving others. It is so sad, yet so common. Learn to get away from the lie of human riches, and learn to develop this intimacy with me and with the Father. As you learn to let our love rule in your heart, you begin to see the reality and the lies of your world.
Learn to see others as persons to love, instead of seeing them as objects to desire or to fear. Love is not about getting but about giving yourself. In order to be encouraged in this important journey of love, learn first to love with the persons you perceive as loving you, and then extend to even those who don’t love you. Often, parents are the first persons you will learn to love, that is why it is important to respect them. Don’t stop there, learn to come to us, to discover in the Scriptures how much the Father and I we love you. Learn to receive our love and blessings, as you learn to welcome with faith and obedience our directions of grace in your life. In this way, you will store treasures in heaven, and you will receive eternal life as the natural inheritance of a child of God.
And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” (10:26-27)
To be saved, to be delivered from sin and death, you need this living and vibrant relationship with the Father. He has life in himself as I have life in myself. As you learn to focus not on wealth but on us, you discover that all things are possible with God. As you develop your fellowship with us, as you welcome my sacrifice on the cross on your behalf, as you learn from us how to love us and your neighbor, you will be delivered from sin and death. This deliverance is not an object you can possess, it is a quality of relationship with us that makes everything possible - opening the door to eternal life and to the kingdom of God.
Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.”
Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (10:28-31)
As you renounce to find security in earthly possessions, as you learn to commit all you have to us and let the Father and me guide you, you discover the wealth of the Father and how he can give you all you need. In fellowship with us you will discover, through my Church, an amazing family with many brothers and sisters, mothers and children, houses and lands. This family is not yet perfect, as you are not yet perfect. Yet, there is much love and it is through you and through my Church that we want to see our love spread in all the earth. As you follow me and rely on your relationship with me and with the Father, you will also experience persecutions in this world. This is normal, people did persecute me, your teacher, so they will also persecute you as my disciple. Don’t look for persecution, just learn to love the Father and me, to welcome fully our love in an intimate communion with us through the Holy Spirit. Then our love will guide you to love your neighbor and to stand peaceful and firm even in front of persecution. Remember that persecution lasts only a short time, in comparison with the peace and joyful life that you can have with us today and that will continue beyond your world into eternity.
In this journey, you will see that many who are prominent in the world or in churches have been relying on wealth and reputation more than on the eternal life that grows from an intimacy with us. Also, many who did not impress others, who were faithfully following me in the simplicity of their every day life, will be important in the kingdom of God. Indeed, many who are first will be last, and the last first.
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