The Message
If Jesus isn't good, then I certainly don't stand a chance! Which is kinda the point.... we don't have a chance at being good on our own, so isn't it incredible and awesome and amazing that we worship a God who comes to us in the person of Jesus Christ and makes it possible for us to be good through the selfless love of God!
This exchange with the man is fascinating. The temptation is to make it a rule, but that's not what Jesus is doing. Jesus is looking at the man, prideful because he believes his achievements can make him good, and pities him. Jesus recognizes the biggest obstacle in his life, and so Jesus asks the man to give up what he loves most, in the hopes that he'll realize it's God he needs to love most.
The man goes away sad, but we don't know the end of the story, do we?
What's the end of our story? What do we love most? How do you spend your free time? What do you daydream about?
As Bonhoeffer says, when Christ calls a man, he bids him to come and die. Each of us are called to set everything down before our King, for only in emptying our hands can we grasp the immeasurable riches of the Kingdom of God. Fortunately, because we are not able to take hold of this due to our own sin, God gives it as a gift, opening our hands and hearts to receive!
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