"God alone is good." "Follow me."
These two verses stick out from the crowd of words, waving and calling attention. "God alone is good." "Follow me."
Imagine that you run up to Jesus, kneeling as if in need of healing. Healing…is that actually what you need? Maybe? You do not know, all you know is that this man can make things right, and things do not seem to be quite right.
“How can I be right with God?” you ask yourself.
Looking at Jesus you ask, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And, there it is. The healing you need...finally out of your lips. You desire God. You desire life. You desire life that does not fade or rust. You desire the good stuff. You desire God.
“Why do you call me good, no one is good but God alone,” Jesus replies.
“God is good.” Yes indeed, God is good. That is what you have been searching for, a good God, a loving God, a God who can identify what you are missing and heal it.
Jesus redirects your attention, answering your question, sort of, “You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'"
You have not murdered. You have not cheated on your spouse…there is no secret second family somewhere. You do not steal; not even pencils. You do not lie about others or gossip. You work for what you have, you do not try to take it from others. You care for your parents in their old age. You have done it all it seems. You are a good person. Yet, yet, something still lacks.
"Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth."
Jesus, looking at you, with love in his eyes says, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
He found it: the hole in your life. He discovered the pain and offers to heal it.
But, that cannot possibly be the right diagnosis? You have worked hard for all that you have. You have never felt entitled to anything. You have never sought to steal any of it. Give it away? What is wrong with having it? Surely there is nothing wrong with having the finer things in life, is there?
What would it be like to give it all away? What if you gave it away and then needed it later? Then what?
The fact that you are obsessing over a pile of stuff, struggling to even conceive of letting it go reveals for the first time just how sick you are. You have kept all of the secondary commandments, but have forgotten about the first, to love the Lord your God and trust God alone.
Of course it is illogical to trust stuff, but we do. Why is it so hard to part with it? The reason is not hard to discover.
This weekend, I had a chance to see my brother and his family in DC. And, while sitting in our hotel room, I started playing with my niece and nephews. We did not have any toys, but there was that free pad of paper on the table.
So, I took a sheet of the paper, folded it into a paper airplane, threw it at the kids, and they began to laugh and play. They figured out a way to take turns with the only toy in the room, and they were laughing together, throwing it and chasing it.
Paper airplanes are a cheap toy, and there was no real reason that they needed to share, so I made another, and another. That way they would not have to worry about figuring out whose turn was next. In fact, I just sat there and kept making the airplanes out of the whole pad of paper, about 20 planes from the cheap little pad.
But, as I was making more and more, something curious happened. The playing and laughter had stopped. Instead of running around the rooms, throwing flying planes at each other, they had begun to collect them and stash them away, like prized possessions. One had a stash by the pillows on the bed, another, a stash under the table. The youngest was not old enough to know how to protect his property, so he had none.
Instantly, the children had gone from playing and sharing, when they had one, to protecting their possessions when they had many to share.
Ah…but, the possessions were theirs. They had rightfully collected them because they were the fastest and most clever person. They had worked hard for their stash, and they needed to protect them. Of course, the youngest...the weakest...was not entitled to any. I am certain he would learn in time how to collect and stash, just not today.
By now you have noticed that in the end none of the airplanes were used for their intended purpose, flying and laughing and playing. The children also were no longer fulfilling their intended purpose either, to have fun with each other.
The abundance of planes had started to control their actions and their beliefs. And, in the end one of the children was left out. The abundance of planes had led them to forget to love.
Things do not lead us to love. Things do not lead us to do good. Things lead us to sin.
And, the two phrases stick out clearly once again, “God alone is good.” “Follow me.”
No one is good but God. No one gives life like God. No one loves like God. Only God can be trusted completely.
Jesus looks at us with love, sees how attached we are to our things and says, “You want to be healed? Share your wealth with those who have nothing. Trust me. I love you and will never forget you. Follow me.”
The young man went away grieving, for he had many things.
It seems that too much has been asked of him. Maybe it has and there is no hope that he will trust God. Except, one word does not allow me to write him off completely: “grief.” He went away grieving.
Grief only happens when you begin to let go. Grieving happens when you can no longer have what you formerly loved. Grief happens when someone dies. Grief happens when your favorite car gets smashed. Grief happens when what you have will soon be gone.
Maybe, just maybe, Jesus has healed him and the man has taken his first step in letting go. Maybe, just maybe, the man has taken his first step in trusting that God is good. Maybe, just maybe, he will be able to follow. Maybe.
And, Jesus looks with love upon us, because God alone is good. Faith drives us to let go of all those things that control our lives. “Give them to those with none, and come, follow me,” Jesus says. “God alone is good,” he promises. “Follow me.”
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