Focus: Life Is Missing

Text: Mt.19:20

"The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: WHAT LACK I YET?"

The rich young ruler succeeded in life by keeping the laws of God. He gained glory and obtained wealth by a dint of hard work and rule keeping. By keeping laws he became a man of affluence and influence. The synoptic Gospels say that he was RICH. The word 'rich' in Greek is the root word for the English word 'plutocrat.' The man was a plutocrat. Luke called him a ruler, which implies that he was an aristocrat. All his life he had been involved in rule keeping, and he succeeded at it, and became a plutocrat and an aristocrat. He became a member of the elite society - a man of class and culture. In fact, the word 'ruler' is 'archon' in the Greek, meaning 'to be first,' 'first in rank' or 'chief.' The man was in a position of eminence and prominence. He was the number one among so many. The interesting thing is that he became all of these by being law-abiding. He was known for keeping the laws of God.

Laws abound in our world - health laws, dietary laws, economic laws, scientific laws, natural laws, laws of success, etc. Divine and human laws are designed to keep us in check and help us to succeed.

Life is lived by laws. No aspect of life functions without principles. Laws are fundamental to life. The rich young ruler was a successful law-keeper. In the reverse, law-breakers live broken lives. The laws we break end up breaking us at some point.

Here is the thing about the rich young ruler: he was missing life while keeping laws. He asked Jesus, "What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" He came to Jesus, looking for the good life. No one looks for what he already possesses. No one pursues what is already in his possession.

He lacked life even while keeping the law. Life is obtained in the person of Christ, not by law observance. Colossians 3:4 says that Christ is our life, not the law. John says, "In him was life." Paul says, "For in him we live, and move, and have our being…" The law makes us realize our true need, and it drives, leads, or brings us to Christ, who alone is the author and giver of life. We obtain the life of God by believing in Christ, not by doing or observing the law. John tells us that it is by believing that we have life in His name (Jh.20:31). Jesus says, "As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should GIVE ETERNAL LIFE to as many as thou hast given him. And this is ETERNAL LIFE, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (Jh.17:2-3).

What is the value of wealth, personal or social worthiness without eternal life? There is no greater success than being alive in Christ and letting one's light shine for others to see and be drawn to Christ.

There's nothing wrong in having money and being successful in life, but there is everything wrong in not possessing eternal life and being sure of a blissful state in eternity. In all your getting, get the life of Christ and live it out for others to see.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter