The Heart of the Matter

We're all pretty familiar with the rich Young Ruler story, and I know I've read it dozens of times in the Synoptics, but today something struck me. Jesus says, "You know the Commandments" and then he lists five of the ten. Okay, so what about the other five? Upon examination into the Ten Commandments, four are between God and man and six are between man and man. Jesus only mentions five of the six commandments that deal with our interactions as human beings. So which one is missing?

"You shall not covet."

"Covet" isn't really a 21st century term. My dictionary defines it as: "to wish, long for, or crave something, especially the property of another person." This gets interesting now that we know this, when we read the verse with that in mind, we can see the wisdom of the Lord Jesus to cut to the heart of the matter, and we see it between the lines of Scripture all the more.

"All these I have kept since I was a boy," the rich young ruler responds. Sure, he has. He probably kept nine of the ten commandments his whole life. Or 612 of the 613 Mitzvoth (Hebrew for commandments) from the rest of the Torah. That's close to batting 1000, but we all fall short.

"You still lack one thing," Jesus replies. Now we know what that is. He covets. He desires, craves, longs for material things. He's a hoarder. The Bible says he was very wealthy. Jesus then tells him what to do, to give it all to the poor. And he is unable to do it. I am floored by the wisdom of Jesus to cut right to the very core of the issue in this man. He thought he was devout and probably approached Jesus hoping for affirmation of his piousness, but was then confronted and convicted of what he's blinded himself to, the very character flaw holding him back from being the man God made him and calls him to be.

Can you relate? When we know we need to fast, the thing we cannot fathom fasting from is the very thing we should fast from. Funny, huh? Read that sentence again, it's truth. God is our all in all and desires to be just that! When we hoard, when he hold back and onto something for dear life, we must learn to let go. It's even something Jedi Masters teach in Star Wars. Yoda told Anakin Skywalker, "Learn to let go of what you fear most of losing."

I'd say the one thing we should ever adamantly hold onto is the Lord Himself! Hold to His Grace, hold to faith in Him. Hold onto the relationship with Christ. People have different theories on the Bible, devout people with nothing but love for God may come to completely opposing views. People have thoughts about prophecy, eschatology, spiritual gifts, etc. Amidst all the differences and dichotomies, one absolute remains, the God is love, and His love is better then life.

Let us, beloved church, learn to let go, to drop our fears, to unburden ourselves from materialism, addictions, or anything else that takes a priority against God. Take something you hold dear, and imagine losing it for the glory of God. Until you can be fine with that, you have a lot of growing to do. When you are fine with it, when truly Jesus is all you need, then you store treasure in Heaven, then you move closer into blessings like you've never thought or imagined possible. Amen!

For information about my Christmas novel about the original Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, a devout Christian who gave for the glory of God, visit www.nicholasthenovel.com
For more devotionals/sermonettes visit my blog at codywurban.wordpress.com

Created 8 months ago