Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Where is our treasure?
“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” St. Mark 10:17
We all are very familiar with the game Treasure hunt. It is an outdoor game for kids which encourages them to be active and explore. A treasure hunt is all about looking for something hidden and then finding it. This passage is about a young man also looking for something. That something is eternal life. He was in the prime of his life, as St. Mathew tells us; a ruler of the synagogue, as St. Luke tells us, an exceedingly rich man as St. Mark tells us. All three of the synoptic gospels relate. St Luke tells us he was very rich, and St. Mathew and St. Mark tell us that he had great possessions. He was outwardly moral and observant of God’s law. In the scripture, we see that he was approaching Jesus and asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He felt the need for something better. He had cravings for something higher. His wealth, with all the facilities it afforded, all the profits it implied, and all the pleasures it procured, did not satisfy his desires or supply his spiritual needs. His longing for something better than earth remained unappeased. There was still a void within which the world could not fulfill. He felt irrepressible yearnings for immorality, thinking he could add on eternal life to his possessions.
Jesus said to him that he obeys all the commandments, but there is one thing that is lacking in life. Jesus said “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” The one thing the man lacked was love, and love which manifests itself in entire self-surrender to God and in self-denial for man. Jesus reminded him of the commandments and the duties required by God’s law. He stated a general principle that included the commands by saying “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy-self” the whole law including the commandment fulfilled in one word “love” recorded in St. Matthew. Jesus tested the young man. Jesus said, “You profess entire obedience to God’s Law, the essence of the law is love. You must love the Lord your God with all your mind, and soul, and strength, and heart, and your fellow-man as yourself.” Jesus then asked the man to act out that great principle by selling all that he had and distributing it to the poor.
Taking a step into the future can be a difficult task. Whether it is getting ready for the first day at school, going on a first date, leaving the corporate job to set up a start-up business, undergoing experimental treatment for a life-threatening illness, selling all we have (giving it to the poor), or following Jesus. The first step in life is always challenging. Here the young man went away sad. Because he had great wealth and he was unable to let it go. What is the greatest treasure in our life? It may be the wealth, positions, or something that we consider most valuable. But Christ demands us without self-sacrifice we cannot be part of eternal life. Christ wants sacrificial love from us. The result of this act will have treasure in heaven. The young man’s love was more outward observance than of spiritual obedience, more professional than practice, more of the lip than of life. Without sacrifice, we cannot follow Jesus Christ. Let's self-examine and see, where do we place our treasure?
Jesus said to him that he obeys all the commandments, but there is one thing that is lacking in life. Jesus said “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” The one thing the man lacked was love, and love which manifests itself in entire self-surrender to God and in self-denial for man. Jesus reminded him of the commandments and the duties required by God’s law. He stated a general principle that included the commands by saying “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy-self” the whole law including the commandment fulfilled in one word “love” recorded in St. Matthew. Jesus tested the young man. Jesus said, “You profess entire obedience to God’s Law, the essence of the law is love. You must love the Lord your God with all your mind, and soul, and strength, and heart, and your fellow-man as yourself.” Jesus then asked the man to act out that great principle by selling all that he had and distributing it to the poor.
Taking a step into the future can be a difficult task. Whether it is getting ready for the first day at school, going on a first date, leaving the corporate job to set up a start-up business, undergoing experimental treatment for a life-threatening illness, selling all we have (giving it to the poor), or following Jesus. The first step in life is always challenging. Here the young man went away sad. Because he had great wealth and he was unable to let it go. What is the greatest treasure in our life? It may be the wealth, positions, or something that we consider most valuable. But Christ demands us without self-sacrifice we cannot be part of eternal life. Christ wants sacrificial love from us. The result of this act will have treasure in heaven. The young man’s love was more outward observance than of spiritual obedience, more professional than practice, more of the lip than of life. Without sacrifice, we cannot follow Jesus Christ. Let's self-examine and see, where do we place our treasure?
Prayer
“Give me the grace to do as you command, and command me to do what you will”
St. Augustine
Rev Sonu Varghese
“Give me the grace to do as you command, and command me to do what you will”
St. Augustine
Rev Sonu Varghese