On what does your faith depend on today

The Rich Young Ruler without faith

Morning Thought

You gotta have faith, real faith not fake faith

The Rich Young Ruler

Matthew 19:16-22

We’ve all read this story many times. The young ruler ask “Good Teacher, what good thing shall i do that I may have eternal life?”

Christ states, “But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments”. And as the story goes, Christ  details specific commandments and the Rich young ruler acknowledges that he keeps them. But Christ let him know that he still lacked one thing and asked him to sell all his possessions and follow him. The ruler eventually walked away because of his possessions.

What I learned from this exchange is this:

1. Just keeping Gods commands are never enough. He kept the commands of God but still fell short and lacked perfection (Rom 3:23).

2. He was obedient to follow Gods law but did not have Faith (Trust) to truly follow God. Obedience is not enough, it’s about Faith. Without Faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).

3. In his mind, he thought he pleased God but his heart was far from him. His heart (emotions) was in his riches and he ultimately couldn’t truly follow God. This reminds of Rev 2:23 where Christ states, he searches the Heart and Mind. Man sees the outside but God sees your whole being.

This exchange and the letters found in the New Testament show us that no matter how many rules, commands, checklist, or specific number of acts you do on a particular day or whatever, we still fall short of Gods glory. What truly saves us is the blood of Christ and putting our Faith (Trust) in him. Our perfection and righteousness can only be found in Christ Jesus (Rom 10:4). This understanding will guide our daily walk with God and help us in becoming a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1-2), which is our true worship to God.

Come join the family of God to get your edification and spiritual food.