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The way the wealthy ruler approached Jesus and why he walked away from Jesus reflected a man steeped in earthly views and values. When he called Jesus “Good teacher”, he was thinking of goodness based on his human standards. He had not seen something more … the holiness of God. When he asked what he should do to inherit eternal life, he thought he could attain eternal life through good works. He was still counting on human efforts. And when Jesus pointed out that he needed to give away all he had, he went away dejected because he knew it was something he could not do. He could not give up his hard earned wealth.

God was not in the ruler’s picture of eternal life and hence he failed to recognize that good is never good enough. He did not realise that he needed to be holy just as God is holy. He did not know that he could not gain eternal life except through surrender to Jesus. He was not aware that he would not be able to give up his worldly possessions without the power of the Holy Spirit in his life.

Before we give ourselves pats on our backs and congratulate ourselves for not being like the ruler, we need to think again. What has Jesus asked you to give up recently? It could be a hobby that is not glorifying to Him, idolizing your children, a significant portion of your possessions, a job that leaves you no time for service to God, a life of comfort or a comfort zone to move into a new area. Whatever it is, have you done so? If you have not, you are no different from the ruler. At least, he walked away feeling sad. Some of us may even walk away pretending we did not hear the message from God!

Jesus said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Lk. 9:23). When was the last time you heard Jesus asking you to do something difficult? If you have not been challenged for a while, perhaps you should evaluate your walk with Jesus. The wealthy ruler approached Jesus who was upfront with him, telling him exactly what he needed to do. If we are not daily walking close to Jesus and listening attentively to Him, we may not hear from Him. And naturally we will not be challenged.