What Must I Do?

I just finished reading about the rich young ruler found in the gospels. The man comes to Jesus and asks “What must I do to be saved” and the young man responds with two of the Ten Commandments “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus seems to ask if the man is following those words, and the young man says, “yes, and more.” Then the story says, Jesus looked at him and loved him, and then he tells the young man to “go home, sell all you have and follow me.” And the young man left in sadness because he had a lot of wealth.

So, what would we have done in his shoes? What's the point of this story? Some would say we need to all take vows of poverty to be true Christians. Or at least give the bulk of what we have away. We know the 12 disciples left their homes, and some their families, to follow Jesus. We don’t know if they gave all they had to the poor. We know today there are people who have given much of what they have to others and live very simply. Others have given up living in the West to go to third world countries and serve God there. Are they more Christian than those of us who stay home with all our stuff? 

It’s a good question, and even a good challenge, but I’m not so sure it’s the point of this story. The young man believed he lived the Law, and living the Law, to a Jew, was their salvation.  “Do this and you shall live.” The difficulty came in the doing. And that’s true for all of us. Hard as we might try, it’s impossible for us to live up to God’s standard on our own. We would fail as quickly as the young man.

We might be able to go through life without taking another’s life. We might not ever become a cat burglar. But somewhere, or some several somewheres, we’ll find one commandment that trips us up. Like the rich young ruler. When asked to give up all he had and follow Jesus, he couldn’t. Why, because he had much wealth. So? Well, perhaps he loved his wealth too much. Perhaps he loved his wealth more than God or his neighbors. And with Jesus’ request he discovered he did not love God with his all. And being a well-studied young man, he knew he’d just failed the test. He was not living the Law perfectly. He walked away saddened.

But, Jesus loved him. He loved him enough to shortly after their encounter die for him. And in dying for him, and for us, Jesus made another way. A way where the Law was fulfilled through us, not by us. It’s an important distinction. Because no matter how good we think we are, no matter how many bad things we don’t do, it’s never enough.

Seeking salvation by our works will always leave us saddened and walking away knowing we still have not quite done enough. But the point is, we can’t. What God wants from us is that we give Him ourselves. We give him our heart, soul and mind, even if we are not giving Him 100%. God takes an open door and comes in. He brings His Holy Spirit with Him, and they set to work in our lives, shaping us to be the person we long to be, living out the law in and through us. 

The young man needed to rephrase his question. He needed to lead with humility rather than pride. He needed to admit that, though he thought he’d done everything, it hadn’t changed his life. That should have led him to wonder why. Perhaps that was why he came to Jesus in the first place; he didn't feel saved, so he asked the question. Maybe the question should have been: is there something else? Is there another, better, more fulfilling way to find God? And Jesus would say, follow me; let me take hold of your life and change you from the inside out. That's what Jesus asks of  us, to give Him our life, and He'll do the rest.