What’s the one thing in your life that you’re holding on to too tightly that is preventing you from moving forward? Hmmmm? That’s a good question, right? Did anything come to mind yet? Maybe a few things, but not sure which one? Or maybe nothing at all, and rather you’re thinking all that you’re not holding on to too tightly.

Okay, okay, enough with the enigma… Here, are some things if you haven’t come up with anything: money, a relationship, a job, the past, a reputation, etc. I assume you get the point now.

In any case, I love the Biblical story of the Rich Young Ruler. It’s told in 3 of the 4 Gospels: Mark 10, Luke 18 and Matthew 19. Here, a rich young wealthy man acknowledges Jesus’ wisdom and asks Him what he must do to inherit eternal life. Using the Luke iteration, Jesus replies:

“You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'”

The rich young ruler pretty much replies with an affirmative that he had upheld these commandments. But Jesus responds with:

“One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

For as long as I’ve been a Christian I’ve always wondered if this was meant as literal: to sell all that I have; all my possessions. I often wondered if this was the case, then their must be a bunch of fake Christians because I know very few Christians who have done this (sell everything), myself included…

Over time, I’ve come to realize that what Jesus was doing here in this passage was to figuratively “PUT UP A MIRROR” in the face of the rich young ruler. I doing so, the ruler saw a reflection that he wasn’t willing to let go. He saw himself as just that, a “rich ruler.”

In this case, it’s also interesting that the 1st commandment is not included in Jesus’ list earlier in the passage, thus the very same thing He is emphasizing:

“You shall have no other gods before Me.”

So in essence, the rich young ruler had another “god,” idolatry in the sense that money was that one thing that prevented him from following Jesus.

For us today, is it always money? No, but often it is, hence probably why the emphasis on it. But the “reflection” will vary from person to person.

For those who don’t know Jesus Christ as Savior, it’s essential that the first commandment is adhered to. All the others hinge off this. You cannot call yourself a Christian if you uphold other things as equal to or more important than God. Not that anyone will ever always uphold all the other commandments, but the 1st commandment is first for a reason. And this is want Jesus was trying to communicate to the rich young ruler.

For the Christian, this passage can be viewed as an exhortation to examine what is holding you back from fully following and trusting God (see Proverbs 3:5-6).

So, going back to the initial question in this FB post…I guess it can be rephrased:

“What does your reflection look like?”