I think all of us can relate to the young man in this particular passage from Matthew. We all desire to do what is good. We all want to do our best in life so that we can enjoy eternity with God in the life to come. And I’m sure many of us go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him: “Lord, just tell me what I need to do so that I can make it in to Heaven.” And the response of Jesus to the young man in the Gospel is the same one that He gives to us.

Yes, we have to follow the commandments. Yes, we have to follow the teachings of Christ and His Church. Yes, we have to do the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. But that’s not enough. We can’t do those things completely unless we follow Jesus completely. We can’t do those things in their fullest sense if a relationship with Jesus is not the focus of our lives.

The rich young man that we hear about this morning had fulfilled the Law. He was doing all that the Jewish faith instructed him to do. But now, Jesus was inviting him to take the biggest step of his life – the young man was being asked to open his heart and follow Jesus. Jesus could have simply told him what he needed to do: “You need to live your life for God the Father” or, “You must give up all your possessions and serve in the temple.” Instead, Jesus meets the young man where he’s at…Jesus acknowledges the sincerity of the man’s question and offered the only fulfillment that could truly satisfy him. Jesus tells the young man: “Follow me.”

In all of our lives, Jesus is the only one who can truly fulfill us. He is the only one who can satisfy every desire of our hearts and bring us to a sense of fulfillment, a sense of peace. Jesus is the one who knows us most intimately. All He asks is for us to reciprocate that relationship and that intimacy.

This morning Jesus is asking us to follow Him. Let’s pray today that our response is not like the rich young man who went away sad; instead, may we always choose to follow Christ, and dive more deeply in our relationship with Him. 

Painting: Christ and the young rich ruler, Heinrich Hoffman (1889). Purchased by John D Rockefeller Jr, now residing at Riverside Church, New York. Used under Public Domain.