HE HAS TO BE IN THE PICTURE

DAY 228 OF 365 IN 2021

Matthew 19:20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”

In our text today, we encounter a young man in a bit of a predicament: his desire was to gain eternal life hence his contact with Jesus to establish “the how”. Jesus’ answer was fairly straightforward, He offered him a list of dos and don’ts. It is of interest to note that the young man was rather unperturbed about this list, quickly responding ‘All these I have kept since my youth’.

However, here was the concern “what do I still lack?” Even after carefully fulfilling the stipulated requirements of the law, this man still realised that something was missing, the puzzle remained incomplete.

Today’s message is a gentle reminder of the place of Jesus in the whole equation of life: ‘this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life (1 John 5:11-12). In addition, There is no one else who has the power to save us, for there is only one name to whom God has given authority by which we must experience salvation: the name of Jesus.” (Acts 4:12)

The answer to the question “what do I lack” was therefore given as follows ‘sell all you have, then come follow me’. In other words, he was being told by Jesus: ‘Your doing alone will not suffice for you have laid all the ground work apart from me. But without me, your puzzle will remain incomplete.

#sly