Perfection

A young man approached Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal  life?” He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He asked him, “Which ones?”

And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

The young man said to him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. (Matthew 19:16-22)

I must admit that those who keep the commandments Jesus listed have done more than enough “to enter into life.”  The question remains, “Do we really want to be perfect when to be so we must give away all our possessions?”  Treasure in heaven is there for us if we keep those demanding commandments.  We don’t need to be perfect.  

The young man should not have walked away sad.  I wouldn’t have.  I would have challenged Jesus.  Then again, this is Matthew speaking for Jesus.

To follow Jesus, we need not give up all our possessions.  We need not be perfect.  We simply need to be charitable and to share.  That is a manifestation of loving our neighbor as ourselves.

Deacon David Pierce