Matthew 19:20-22
20The young man said to him, ‘I have kept all these; what do I still lack?’ 21Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ 22When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
It could be said, probably of all of us, that we have many possessions. One of the projects I undertook this summer was our basement, that unfinished storage space that had become the dumping grounds for anything we wanted out of sight over the past seven (or more) years. We often read this passage as the young man was grieving because he loved his things and didn’t want to get rid of them. After my experience this summer? I think maybe he was grieving because he knew the hard work that awaited him. I joke. Sort of.
Truly, what Jesus asks of the young man is the hard thing. Evidently keeping the commandments was easy for him, but giving up his possessions would be difficult. I wish we knew what happened to the young man. Did he do what Jesus asked of him? Or did he make a different decision? What do you think?
Peace,
Pastor Jenn
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