The Word for Today

by Bob and Debby Gass

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‘You still lack one thing.’ Luke 18:22 NKJV

Luke records: ‘A certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him…“You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honour your father and your mother.’” And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.’ (Luke 18:18–23 NKJV) This man had two problems, and Jesus put His finger on each. First, he discovered that keeping a bunch of religious rules cannot fill the emptiness in your soul; only a relationship with Christ can do that. Second, he discovered that he didn’t just own riches, his riches owned him and kept him from following Christ. He had so much potential. He could have leveraged his resources, his network and his energy for Kingdom causes, but he wanted to keep it all for himself. And the Bible captions his life in four words: ‘He became very sorrowful.’ Here’s the score. The rich young ruler eventually became the rich old ruler. Until the day he died he’d remember the words of Jesus: ‘Come, follow Me.’ And Jesus makes the same offer to you. If you say no, you’ll regret it at the end of your life. If you say yes, you’ll be rewarded with joy and a level of blessing you never knew was possible.

SoulFood: 2 Chr 1–4, Lk 14:15–24, Ps 119:73–80, Prov 21:14–16

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2024

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