What Must I Do To Gain Eternal Life?

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As we journey in our walk to know Jesus Christ an important step to take is tithing or giving.  A rich man ran up to Jesus in the gospel and humbly asks what he must do to gain eternal life.  It is a fundamental question of life.  And it is much more than the legalistic question concerning who gets saved.  He is really asking about how to experience the fullness of Christian life right now.  And even though he lives the Commandments he knows that there is more to life.  He is correct in his thinking.

He makes a very common mistake that is subtle in his language.  It is all about what he must do; the actions he must take.  He is self-powered, competitive, type A personality.  And Jesus sees this and changes the subject.  Jesus says why do you ask me about the Good One, or better, why don’t you ask me about the Good One.  Eternal life is not about what I do; it is communion with the Father, having a real personal relationship with him.  It is about how I live my life today, not just at the moment of death.

When you and I have a bit of eternal life we are no longer afraid, of anything.  My mom can get violent at times due to her dementia, recently she has not shown this, but the other day she did.  I was really scared; I approached her rather timidly.  When you have an experience of this communion with God, you are not afraid of anything.   This young man has everything: wealth, health and a good position, but he is empty.

Jesus senses this and looking at him, loved him and said:  “You are lacking one thing.  Go sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come follow me.”  Jesus identifies the one thing that is keeping him from being happy, from finding fulfillment in this life.  It is not by chance that money is the number one problem for most people, maybe not for everyone, but at least for the people I know.

Jesus doesn’t want him or you or I to live on the street.  What does he want from us?  He wants to preside in our hearts.  He wants you to get rid of all things superfluous.  He wants you to forget your plans!  Jesus offers himself, and hopes that you will really turn to him.

Jesus goes on to say that it is hard for those who are wealthy to enter the Kingdom.   It was especially astonishing for his Jewish followers.  Affluence was a sign of God’s favor.  The wealthy were thought to be closer to God, and holier.  The problem is not the things themselves but that money and security become what we worship.  He wants you to be free, not a slave to money or what people think or always working for tomorrow.

If we don’t live this part of our life correctly we will never get life right.  All that we have are gifts from God and we need to love and trust the GIVER of those gifts more than the gifts themselves.  There is only one way to do this: to tithe and give generously.  To plan our giving, not just to “tip God.”  To make it a priority and give to God first, not last.  To give a percentage of what we earn, a paycheck, or two.  Start somewhere.  And work at raising your percentage.  It becomes an act of worship and is the best way to grow in faith.  And it helps you to see that God is really acting in your life.

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