What must I do to inherit eternal life?
—Mark 10:17
That was his question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus answered: “Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.”
Knowing that a more subtle personal weakness might trip him up, Jesus added, “Go sell everything you have and give to the poor … Then come, follow me.”
But the big picture isn’t just about possessions; it’s about anything that means so much to us that we will turn loose of the Lord before we will turn loose of it.
Jesus was confronting this young man with an essential question: “How much do you want eternal life; enough to walk away from what is controlling you?”
He wanted it; but not that much. He walked away.
The one thing Christ won’t
occupy is second place.