Love is the most excellent way

This is the final (short) version, printed for the January 1998 issue of our local Mother of Preschoolers Newsletter. The draft version, which was longer, follows.

One day a man asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus’ answer was a shock to him, and a big surprise to the disciples, but is very good news for us. This is from Mark 10:17-27 (the New International Version of the Bible):

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good–except God alone. You know the commandments: `Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard 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 man to enter the kingdom of God.” The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

The man believes that inheriting eternal life is a little like passing an exam: if he gets enough points he will pass. He calls Jesus “good” but Jesus says “No one is good—except God alone”. Since no person can be called “good” it seems that it is not possible for a person to “earn enough points” to inherit eternal life. The man has kept the Ten Commandments since childhood. Jesus then goes on to tell him the one thing he lacks: “Go sell everything you have, then come, follow me”. Until then, the man considered himself to be meeting God’s requirements by keeping the Ten Commandments. But now, the man must think seriously about what he is willing to give up for God.

Jesus wants the disciples to understand this interaction so he comments to them after the man has gone, that it is very hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. They are amazed because they believed that a person’s circumstances indicate whether God is pleased with them. Riches were considered to be a sign of God’s blessing. But sometimes, as in the case of this man, wealth can be a hindrance because it becomes our security instead of God. We each need to get rid of whatever may be keeping us from focusing on God.

Men cannot earn enough points or make themselves good enough to “earn” eternal life. But Jesus then adds: all things are possible with God. Eternal life is not earned but is a gift from God, given to all who believe - as we read in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son [Jesus], that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”.

Hidden Treasure: The Rich Young Man (Draft (Longer) Version)

Most Moms have a lot to think about, just to get through today! We often spend more time than is helpful worrying about the future. But it is appropriate to do some planning for the future. One day a man who wanted to be sure of the best possible future, ran up to Jesus to ask his opinion about what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Let’s look at Jesus’ answer, which was a shock to him, and a big surprise to the disciples, but which is very good news for us, once we understand it. This is from Mark 10:17-31 (the New International Version of the Bible):

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good–except God alone. You know the commandments: `Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard 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 man to enter the kingdom of God.” The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!” “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields–and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

The man’s actions in running up to Jesus and falling on his knees, indicate that his question is sincere and he very much wants to hear Jesus’ answer. This man’s understanding seems to be that inheriting eternal life is a little like passing an exam, where if he gets enough points he will pass. And so far he thinks he is doing well, but he wants to get a second opinion from a teacher. His calling Jesus “good” may be reflect this view also. Perhaps the man thinks that if a person “earns enough points” then it is appropriate to say that that person is “good”. Jesus briefly comments on the use of “good”, saying that Jesus would only use that word of God. This may seem irrelevant but I think it is related to the rest of the discussion because if no human can be appropriately called “good” then that calls into question whether a person can “earn enough points” to inherit eternal life. Jesus refers to the ten commandments, taught to all Jews, and the man says that he has kept them. Jesus then goes on to tell “the one thing he lacks”. The author of this passage points out that Jesus loved the man, presumably to emphasize that Jesus answered took the man’s question seriously and answered him carefully and that it was not Jesus’ treatment of the man which upset him but the implications of Jesus’ words.

Until then, the “points” system was working for the man; he considered himself to be meeting God’s requirements by keeping the Jewish laws. But by adding this one thing, Jesus had made it hard for this man to “earn points”; for the first time the man had to think seriously about how much he was willing to give up for God. And what if this was too hard for the man? Would that mean he couldn’t inherit eternal life after all? No wonder he went away sad.

Jesus wants the disciples to understand this interaction so he comments to them after the man has gone, that it is very hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. They are amazed because, just like today, people often use their circumstances to figure out whether God is pleased with them. Riches were considered to be a sign of God’s blessing so the disciples would have assumed that wealth is a sign that a person must be pleasing God! But sometimes, as in the case of this man, wealth can be a hindrance because it becomes our security instead of God. We each need to get rid of whatever may be keeping us from focusing on God.

Jesus then says something which sheds more light on the rest of the passage. First he agrees with the disciples and goes even further than them, saying that it is not just difficult but impossible for men to be saved. Men cannot earn enough points or make themselves good enough to “earn” eternal life. But Jesus then says something which helps us to understand the rest of the discussion: all things are possible with God. Everyone who is saved and has eternal life, has it because God has made it possible by freely offering it to them, not because they have earned enough points to have it. Jesus’ comments about eternal life, on other occasions, made it clear that anyone who believes in him (that is, believes that God sent Jesus to reconcile the world to Himself) is given eternal life as a gift.

The final comment of Jesus helps to answer a predictable follow-up question: “If God gives us eternal life irrespective of our behavior, then does it matter to God, how we behave?” Jesus assures Peter that God will reward those many times over who give up things for His sake. So, yes, it does make a difference to God how we behave. And besides, God’s generosity in freely giving us eternal life causes us to want to do what pleases Him; we are doing it not to “earn points” but out of gratitude for what He has given us.

We don’t know if the man in this passage did come to understand that eternal life is not earned but freely given, and that no-one who gives things up for God will be disappointed. But we can make sure that what we do for God is not motivated by a desire to earn eternal life, or His favor, but is a response of gratitude to God who is so generous that He offers us eternal life, not because we earned it, but because He loves us very much.