What do you give to the person who has everything? Quite a problem these days in our affluent society. The rich young man in our text seemed to have everything. He was wealthy. He had a solid religious background, even claiming that he had kept all the Commandments since he was a boy. He therefore assumed that he would inherit eternal life.
Imagine his shock when Jesus said to him, “One thing you lack.” He must have wondered what in the world could be lacking. Jesus proceeds, “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” He lacked treasure in heaven because he was placing his trust in earthly possessions. Sadly he went away because he had great wealth. He preferred lacking heavenly treasure to lacking earthly treasure.
Do you have one thing lacking? Do you trust earthly wealth instead of Jesus Christ as your only Savior from sin? One thing lacking means eternal punishment in hell. Possessing that one thing means lacking nothing else. As Paul writes, “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32). Yes, believers in Christ lack nothing!
PRAYER: Thank You, O Lord, for sending Your only Son, Jesus Christ, as my Savior from sin. I lack nothing when I trust in Him. Amen.
(Devotions from “My Daily Devotion” by Dr. Stephen J. Carter, copyright 1988 CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For ordering information, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit www.cph.org.)