ONE THING YOU LACK
A story is recorded in three of the Gospels in which a man came to Jesus and asked Him, “What good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16). To this man, the question was all about doing good things to obtain salvation. He was obviously very proficient at doing good things already because, when Jesus told Him to keep the commandments, and spelled them out for him, this man said that he had kept them all since he was a child. For all his good works, however, he still was in doubt about the condition of his soul.
Many folks today have placed their hopes for
Eternity in the quality and quantity of “good
things” that they have done in their lives.
Sadly, many who confess Christianity fall into the same trap. They have been churched all their lives, and
tried to keep the commandments, and perhaps been quite successful, but yet they
feel an emptiness in their soul. They
know in their hearts that there is something more that they are not
experiencing of God, and they yearn to secure what they are missing, but don’t
know what it is, or how to find it.
Jesus said to the man, “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell
whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in
heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” The man
may have been encouraged to hear that it was only one thing that he
lacked. After all the other things that
he had done, what was one more thing if it would guarantee his salvation? What Jesus revealed, though, was just too
much! To sell all he had and go off with
this man was unrealistic. After all, he
was very wealthy. This man was very
grieved at hearing Jesus’ words, and he turned and walked away. Despite his desire to be saved, and all his
efforts to lead a good life, he could not give the one thing that Christ required.
In the end, it is all about
surrendering ourselves fully to the will of God. We are often prepared to sacrifice many
things to be “good,” but we sink our heels in when it comes down to that one
particular thing that the Lord may require of us. You see, God knows the things that really own
us. He sees the things that rule our
lives, and He is jealous. He is jealous
because He knows that our heart will be divided if we try to serve more than
one Master. This man’s wealth was his
god. For all his apparent desire to be
right, and all his good words, he was willing to walk away from the Lord when
it came down to choosing between God and his riches. The Lord was not asking anything more or less
from this man than He had asked of His other disciples. They each had forsaken all and taken up their
crosses to follow Jesus.
Good works will never get us one step
closer to heaven. We may go to church
all our lives and lead pretty good lives - giving our time and our money to
help others – and yet never see that it is about giving ourselves (all we are,
and all we have) to the Lord. Salvation
is more about Whom we will serve, than what we will do. Scripture tells us that Jesus loved this
man. He recognized in him a yearning heart,
but the Lord must have been greatly saddened by the grasp that his possessions
had over him.
I believe that, as Christians, the Lord
sheds His light on things in our lives that we may place too much importance on,
and then asks us to make a choice. It
may be a habit, a pastime, a hobby, a lust, or a possession; but it is always
something that is hindering our spirituality and our relationship with Him. It is always that one thing that we lack that
God is interested in. It’s not so much
about the thing itself, as it is about the control it has over us. We can respond to what the Lord requires, and
find that what He replaces it with is infinitely better; or we can become
grieved, and turn away from Him when He invades our secret sanctuary. God is looking for disciples, and
nothing less. By His grace we can
fulfill that calling and find the peace and joy that comes with believing and
knowing the Savior. We are in boot camp,
and must learn to respond to the voice of our Master and Commander lest we be
slain in the field of battle; for, indeed, we are in a warfare. Let’s not be lacking in anything that would
hinder our closeness to the tender Shepherd of our souls.
Dear Reader, what
are the things that are lacking in your life?
The things that you know the Lord is asking you to surrender? Like the man who tries to run a marathon
carrying many heavy weights with him, your sins will hinder you from finishing
the race that God has called you to run.
Isn’t it time to cast aside every weight of sin and believe the Savior,
Jesus Christ, for the freedom that He has purchased for you on Calvary’s
cross? Come to Him now, whether you are
someone who has avoided Him all your life, or whether you have known the Lord
and just not been willing to let Him have every area of your life. He will pardon you, and He will empower you,
to walk with Him through the highs and lows of your life.
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