What Shall I Do?

Matthew 19:16-22

16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good?No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” 20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

This man came to Jesus seeking eternal life. He went to the right person. He recognized Jesus was a good teacher who could show him the way. However, he thought he could obtain eternal life by doing something good. Jesus used this as a teaching moment. He pointed out no one is good except God. Jesus wanted this man to recognize He was God and that there are only two ways to acquire eternal life. Since this man sought eternal life through good works, Jesus told him what must be done. To inherit eternal life by good works you have to keep the commandments. This man believed what most people do: if your good works outweigh your bad deeds, then you are granted access to heaven. Jesus wanted him to understand you have to keep every command of God. That requires more than just outwardly obeying the ten commandments. This man knew in his heart he was lacking something even though he obeyed the commandments. Jesus gave him another hint about eternal life. You don’t receive eternal life by simply avoiding bad things. You have to be good. You have to be perfect. So, Jesus told him to be perfect he had to sell his possessions, give them to the poor, and follow Him, then he’d have treasure in heaven. Unfortunately, this man valued his earthly treasures more than he did spiritual treasures. He would not surrender his physical possessions to obtain eternal life, which was the only thing that would truly bring him peace. He could have had eternal life and peace if he would have just given up those things that hindered him from following Jesus.

This account should cause you to ask yourself many questions. Are you seeking eternal life? If you are seeking any earthly thing more than you are seeking Jesus, it won’t last. Only what you do for the Lord has eternal value. Are you seeking eternal life through your good works? If so, you are misguided. Eternal life is only merited by good works if you are perfect. That’s what Jesus did. He lived a perfect life, never sinned, and defeated death. Even if you could live perfectly in thought, word, and deed, you would still have to deal with the sin nature you received from your ancestors. In short, no one other than Christ receives eternal life by keeping the commandments. That leaves you with only one other option: follow Jesus. Maybe you are like this man and something is hindering you from taking that step. Jesus wants you to rid yourself of whatever is preventing you from following Him. What’s hindering you from following Jesus completely? What is Jesus telling you to sell, to eliminate from your life, or to rid yourself of? Remove everything from your life that prevents Jesus from being your number one priority. That is what you should do, then you will have eternal life.