Photo by Michael Hamments on Unsplash
In Matthew 19, we see the parable of the rich, righteous, and religious man who comes to Jesus and asks a serious question:
Verse 16 – “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” We are all looking for something that we can do that will get us to heaven. People want to do what they can to earn God’s love.
Verse 17 – Jesus answers the man – if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.” The man asks which commands I need to keep. Jesus responds with – “You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.”
The man responds, “I have kept all of these commands!” But what else must I DO? (We are always looking for what we can do to be right with God, and God wants us to be right with Him!)
Verse 21 – Jesus responds to this rich man, and to us still today: “If you want to be perfect (right with God) go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. THEN COME, FOLLOW ME!”
If we want to be right with Jesus, then we need to let go of all of our works, rules, regulations, and rituals, and FOLLOW JESUS! How hard is it to walk by faith, trust, and obedience to the Lord? We want to get to heaven, but do we really want to follow Jesus?
Lord, help me to realize that there is nothing I can do to earn salvation! I must COME TO YOU AND FOLLOW YOU EVERY SINGLE DAY!
Are we willing to “Come Follow Jesus?”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Ronald Squibb has been the International Christian Center (ICC) Lead Senior Pastor at Staten Island, New York, since 2011. He draws on many experiences from his over 40 years as a pastor and from significant emotional experiences.
His new book, Following the Journey with Jesus, which he co-authored with Daniel McNaughton, was recently published and is receiving rave reviews. His daily devotional appears in this publication.
