So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."
He said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, "You shall not murder," "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," Honor your father and your mother," and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
The young man said to Him, " All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?"
Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for He had great possessions. Matthew 19:16-22
In this encounter with Jesus we see this young man ask Jesus a question about eternal life and then end up walking away because he couldn't quite put his faith in the words Jesus spoke to him. "But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for He had great possessions." We see that he went away sorrowful....because he knew the choice he was making. He chose his possessions rather than obedience to the words Jesus spoke. It's pretty easy to look at him with a critical eye and shake our heads at his response but I wonder how often we do the same. For example ...
How often do we seek Him for a need and we walk away ...sorrowful because we don't quite believe. What about when we are sick and need healing? Do we believe the numerous places in the word where we are told that everyone who came to Him was healed. Matthew 12:15, 14:14, and 14:36 Just to name a few.
What about when He tells us "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, "Be removed and be cast into the sea," it will be done. And all things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." Matthew 21:21-22 How often do we leave the mountain and go sorrowfully around it rather than choose faith, trust, and obedience to His Word and just speak to it with a word of faith.
How often do we choose to be sorrowful about a need in silence rather than to look to His words on the subject and belive Him to "provide all our needs according to His riches in glory" Philippians 4:19
I wonder just how often we, like this young man choose to walk away sorrowful when in truth all we need to do is believe the words He spoke to His disciples at the end of this encounter. "...but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26
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