AMAZING: Love

Matthew 19:16-30 “The Rich Young Man”

Matthew’s version starts with “now a man came up to Jesus and asked, ‘Teacher, what good thing must I DO to get eternal life?" He is under the assumption that his eternal security is based on his actions. Eternal life is a commodity for him, something to have in his back pocket for a rainy day. Jesus responds that there is only One who is good. The man has missed the point completely. The only thing that is truly ‘good’ is God. He is the good thing that he must have, not a checklist of successful decisions to obey a set of rules.

But even when it comes to the rules the young man has limits. When Jesus says if you want to enter life, obey the commandments he responds saying, ‘which ones?’ He has his own set of rules within the given set of rules. He’s asking how little do I have to do to get what I want? Jesus only lists 6 commands and he pulls them from three different places in the old testament. Jesus seems to be mocking the man by compiling his own list. Did the young man not realize that this is literally .01% of the over 600 laws God revealed to the Israelites? Yet he thinks he can just obey 5 of them and do enough good to get eternal life? and how the heck can you say I have perfectly kept the law to love your neighbor as yourself?!?!? Who can say I have loved everyone all the time? Always forgiving those who hurt you. Always being patient with those who frustrate you. Always choosing to speak words of life when you want to judge. Always having compassion on those who are in need. Only someone who has no idea what sin or love is can claim this!

Then Jesus gives the man a practical way he can show his obedience to the command to love his neighbors: sell everything you have and give it to the poor. We need to realize that love is not just refraining from doing things that harm someone, it is also actively giving your best to them. And sin is not just the action itself but also the thoughts and feelings behind them. The first 5 commands Jesus lists are all ‘do not do this action’ type of laws. The last one, love your neighbor as yourself, seems to be the only active one. He says this is the command you are supposed to DO. How much and how willing you are to give of yours to others is a great test of the degree of your love. Love is an action, not an avoidance of it.

And why was the young man sad when Jesus said this? Was it because he finally realized how dark his heart was towards others? No. Was it because he wanted to give it all away but couldn’t find the strength? No. Was it because he didn’t think his father would let him do it? No. Was it the peer pressure? No. I believe it was because he had so much to lose. He wasn’t focused on the poor and the potential of what his gift could do, but he was focused on himself and what he would lose.

Ahhh this is what Jesus is consistently saying: you must give up your life if you want to find it! We must die to ourselves before we can be alive in Christ. We must release control over everything. The disciples are astonished and exclaim ‘who then can be saved?!’ How can anyone be saved if obeying the law means our hearts being pure as well? That we need to give our whole lives to God and not just avoiding hurting others? The reality hit them like a weight of bricks: We cannot love enough to please God; but Jesus gives us good news… ‘with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible!’ Why? Because God loves us more. He loves us sooo much that he sent Jesus to die for us. Jesus is alluding to himself. His AMAZING love is the way they can be saved. By believing that we cannot do this on our own strength but can only depend on his.

And what can we expect to receive from God for this? More than we can dream or imagine. Can you imagine having 100 times as much as the life you’ve given to God? It’s an impossible amount that we cannot get on our own. He’s saying he can multiply the value of those we love the most and give it to us… what is he talking about? Himself! He is offering them the unconditional love of God which is infinitely higher, wider, deeper and broader. That’s what his love is like….AND we’ll inherit eternal life and live in that love forever!

But first we must be last. We must make ourselves the ones who give greatly if we desire these blessings. He honors the humble and strikes down the selfish. What’s amazing about love that’s focused on you? There’s nothing unique or praiseworthy about that! Why would you deserve anything for caring for yourself? No, the point is ‘all who leave their lives and most prized possessions for my sake, will receive a hundred times what they have given up.’

Ask yourself and the Holy Spirit these questions in prayer:

On what basis do you believe you are going to heaven?

What commandments are you avoiding obeying?

What are some ways ‘loving your neighbor as yourself’ can become more of a reality in your life?

When you give a gift do you think more about what you’re losing or what the other person’s gaining?

Spend 10-15 minutes meditating on the fact that you cannot obey enough laws or love enough to inherit eternal life, but that Jesus died for you anyway