Eternal Life: How Do I Get It?

Eternal Life: How Do I Get It? 

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said to him. . . .You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'" He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. (Mark 10:17-31)

I have often wondered if the man felt that he had, in fact, kept all the commandments from his youth and he was simply looking for confirmation from Jesus, “the teacher,” or if he really sensed that something was missing in his life that just completely alluded him. 

Whatever the case, Jesus cuts through the legalities and goes right to the heart of the matter.  Something, in fact, was missing.  Something was missing from the man’s life, or better said, something was in his life that blocked him from receiving the free gift of eternal life, the gift of the Kingdom of God.  The most telling part of the story, the part that shows us who Jesus really is, is captured in the words, “Jesus looked at him and loved him. . . .” 

Most of us remember the words which follow these words: . . . ."you lack one thing; go, sell what you own and give the money to the poor and you will have treasures in heaven; then, come and follow me.”  We have heard this story enough times that we know the ending by heart. That “he went away grieving, for he had many possessions. 

At first blush it appears that the man’s road block to the Kingdom of God is money, possessions, but the longer I live the more I realize that the roadblock is “whatever separates us from God. 

Many people in our time, the famous as well as the unknown, have given up many different things which blocked them from following Jesus.  Mother Teresa gave up everything; Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Workers Movement, gave up the father of her child and prestige; Dietrich Bonheoffer gave up status and position and finally his life; Martin Luther King Jr. gave up the opportunity for big churches, time, energy and his life. 

All of us can think of people in our own lives who have given up much to follow Jesus, who have given up much to find eternal life, to find the Kingdom of God, and to help bring about the Kingdom of God, on Earth as it is in heaven. 

The question for me, and likely for some of you is, “what one thing do I lack that God would have me give up?”  For some of us it may be “all of the above.”  For others, it may be wealth or respect or power or money or position, or even our lives.  What we are asked to give up will be different for each of us, but we can be sure that it will be whatever keeps us from serving God and our fellow human beings. 

Finally, I believe it comes down the words of the Prophet Micah asks the people of Israel:  

What does the Lord require of you but to do Justice, and to

love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)