“…As Jesus was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?’ So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’” And he answered and said to Him, ‘Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.’ Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:17-22).
This is a story most Christians are familiar with but don’t readily identify with because most of God’s children don’t have great possessions. But while we may not have great possessions as he did, if we look real close, we’ll see that we all, rich and poor alike, share the most prized possession of all: our eternal souls.
First and foremost, this story is not about the man’s earthly possessions. Earthly possessions are not evil; it’s not sinful to have possessions, many or few. But when they become our treasure, that’s when they become our downfall. Jesus warns us:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).
This story is about the man’s soul, the eternal destiny of his soul. And that’s what was on his mind when he approached Jesus: “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” He asked Jesus an honest question, and Jesus gave him a true and honest answer: “One thing you lack: Go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow Me.”
At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad because he had great wealth. His great possessions had such complete control of his heart that when he came to his Maker, he chose to reject the words that he had asked for; he refused the words that would save him and walked away from Jesus. Paul said this:
“Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:9-10).
So much for those proud shepherds who like to parade their wealth before their flock.
The man was so blinded by his love for his earthly possessions that he couldn’t see that his most prized possession was his eternal soul; and more importantly, He couldn’t see that Jesus loved his soul.
We have to live in this present world and are to do the works of God until Jesus returns for us. Now, we grow up in a family, we find work, we get married, we make a home for ourselves. Our family, whom we love very much, is not our most prized possession—our eternal soul is. And if Jesus is our first love, we will not only look out for the welfare of our own soul but for the souls of those near and dear to us.
I was a pastor for many years, but I was also a factory worker for 44 years. I got weary of punching the timeclock every day, but I liked my work and was good at what I did. Ten years into working with a group of unsaved men, I was born again. From that point on, my primary concern and prayer was not my work but the welfare of those men’s souls. Thank God over the years, several gave their hearts to Jesus.
We love our family, our home, and hopefully like our work. And over the course of the years, the Lord blesses us with a decent income. We may have hobbies or activities that we like; we may take vacations and have regular family get-togethers; we may really be into the sports scene. But whatever path our lives may take, however much we may love our family, how much we may value our home, may we never prize anything above our immortal souls, and may we never love anyone more than Jesus.
Jesus lived on this earth 33 years without owning a single thing. And at the end of His life, He willingly gave up the earthly possession we all prize most highly—His body! And Jesus did it because of the value of your soul and His love for it; Jesus purchased your soul from death with His own blood because He loves you!
I know how the rich young man’s life ended: he died just like everyone else does. I’m also sure of this: that as he saw his days coming to a close, he would have given up all his possessions to live just a while longer. And so Jesus’ word is: “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul” (Mark 8:36).
As children of God, our most prized possession is Jesus Christ. He has purchased us with His own blood—body and soul. Our eternal souls are hidden with Him at the right hand of God. When Jesus comes, not only will our eternal lives be revealed, but God has prepared a new, glorious, incorruptible, immortal body that will house our eternal soul—Praise God!
“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).
Brother Bill Oldham