“And behold, one came and said unto Him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16)
We all should be familiar with the rich young ruler. This was not a parable Jesus related to teach. It actually happened. When the rich young ruler left Jesus because he couldn’t part with his possessions, they heard these words: “Then said Jesus unto his
disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again, I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:23-24) The disciples were astonished because this rich young ruler did everything required by the Law. “When his
disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?” (Matthew 19:25) There is so much good stuff to learn just from these three Scriptures, but the thing that struck me this morning is the manner in which the rich young ruler addressed Jesus.
He called Jesus Good Master. And Jesus chided him for saying that. “And He said unto him, Why callest thou Me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” (Matthew 19:17) Jesus scolded him because he called Him good, not because he called Him Master. Here the word used for master means teacher. But to call Him good was attributing divinity to Jesus. Yes, Jesus is God, but the rich young ruler was using the word loosely and illegitimately. So what Jesus was asking the rich young ruler was, “Do you believe I am God?” This passage was one I never quite understood. It would have been a perfect opportunity for Jesus to exalt Himself. But Jesus knew what was in this rich young ruler’s heart. The Bible doesn’t spell it out for us, but we can pick it up. The rich young ruler just wanted a list of dos and don’ts. That’s how he lived his life and why he was so accomplished. His heart belonged to himself. He was proud of who he had become and what he had accomplished. But in the kingdom of God, it’s not about how much we accomplish, but about if our heart belongs to God completely.
If we have made Jesus our Lord and Savior, is He truly our Lord? The definition for a lord is master, ruler, leader. We can stop here because this says it all. Will Jesus scold us as He did the rich young ruler because we call Him Lord, when the lord of our lives is ourselves? The need to examine ourselves is imperative. What I see are those who say they have made Jesus Lord and only allow Jesus to direct them in spiritual matters, of things that are related to the church and/or ministry. But their personal lives are lived in this temporal world because they think they can handle the things that are in the natural. But how much better would it be to follow Jesus every minute of every day? We have no idea how glorious it would be to follow His every choice.
Is Jesus your Lord? Call Him Lord. Call Him Good because He is Lord and He is Good. It may seem silly (let’s just say) to let Jesus choose what you’re to eat for breakfast. You may say, well, I don’t need the Lord for that. But I ask, why not? Wouldn’t Jesus know what kind of energy you may need for what’s coming that day or whether you won’t get to eat lunch or any other thing you don’t know is coming your way that day? We have choices to make every minute. And we make them automatically, without even a second thought. What would happen it we allow the Lord to direct our steps every moment of our lives? It’s something to work on. I know I’ve tried, but “Me” keeps getting in the way. Let’s not just give Him lip service, but commune with the Holy Spirit. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” (2Corinthians 13:14) He is God in us. Let’s follow Him. Let’s not make Him follow us.
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