Day 29

Exodus 7:25‐9:35; Matthew 19:13‐30; Psalm 24:1‐10; Proverbs 6:1‐5

Can We Get “Good Enough”?

In today’s reading from Matthew, Jesus is called “Good Teacher” by the man inquiring how to inherit eternal life. Jesus assures him no one is “good” except God, and that to go to heaven, he needs to keep God’s commands. The man asks, “Which ones?” It is interesting that Jesus lists six commands that have to do with our relationship with other people but doesn’t mention any commands that have exclusively to do with our relationship to God—the same ratio as the Ten Commandments. The man assures Jesus he has kept all those commands since his childhood and, “What else is there?”

Since one of the commands Jesus mentioned was to “Love our neighbor as our selves,” perhaps he senses the man doesn’t fully understand the implications and therefore answered too hastily. So, Jesus takes that command out of the general and makes it very specific: “Sell everything you own and give the proceeds to the poor; then come and follow me.” When the fullest implications of loving a neighbor as one loves one’s self became clear to the man, he walked away, grieving for what he would lose. He chose not to follow Jesus, the Good Teacher. The cost of being “good” became too high.

Ultimately, the way to inherit eternal life is not about keeping commandments—as important as that is. It is about following Jesus, being willing to walk with Him wherever He leads us and being willing to do whatever He asks of us because we trust Him with our very souls. Today, we remember that, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it!” (Psalm 24:1).

Richard Bordin