The Treasure Your Heart Reflects
Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.
“A certain ruler asked Him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call Me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”
“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.
When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy.” Luke 18:18–23
I was struck by “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
Do you see it? Jesus exposed the thing that had the young ruler’s heart. The thing he lacked, the posture of his heart, was allegiance to his earthly treasures not the treasure in heaven Jesus offered. One or the other would be the treasure his heart leaned towards but not both.
In great sorrow, the man walked away because the cost of following Jesus was greater than what he was willing to surrender.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21
Oof! What does that look like for us?
What is your “one thing”? What would make you hesitate if Jesus asked you to lay it down?
Is it your money or possessions, as it was for the rich man? Could it be your reputation, control, the approval of others, or even the version of success you have worked so hard to build?
It’s important to remember that Jesus wasn’t asking the man to give something up because possessions were inherently evil. He was revealing that the value of possessions was leading the man’s heart not his desire for eternity with God.
Sometimes the obstacle to surrender isn’t that we don’t know what God is asking. We know. We just don’t like the cost of opening our hands and saying yes.
More often than not, the place God is calling you will require you to leave something behind. It might not be comfortable, especially if it is something you hold dear. That becomes obvious when you’re standing on the edge of yes, and what frightens you isn’t where God is taking you, but what He is asking you to leave behind.
The rich young ruler knew what Jesus was asking. His struggle wasn’t understanding; it was surrender.
Total surrender is the battle some of us are facing today. We aren’t confused. We’re counting the cost.
We’re looking at the thing we have spent years building, protecting, accumulating, or depending upon, and wondering if we can really place it in God’s hands.
You might find yourself asking, “Lord, what if my yes costs me this?” But the better question is, “What will my no cost me?”
What might I miss because I refused to release what God asked me to surrender? What might be waiting on the other side of obedience?
I don’t know what the rich young ruler’s life could have become if he had said yes. But I do know that Jesus was standing right in front of him with an invitation to eternity.
The question for every one of us standing on the edge of yes requires our heart’s posture to be exposed. “Is what I’m holding onto worth more to me than where Jesus is asking me to go?”
Loving Father, all I have is Yours. I am grateful for my possessions, but my heart belongs to You. Thank You for strengthening me to hear and obey your calling to come and follow You. Help me release anything that might hinder my yes. Use me according to Your perfect will.
Dear heart, if Jesus is asking you to leave something behind, He is not asking you to walk into emptiness. He is asking you to trust Him with your hands open then follow Him. Who you gain in Jesus is worth infinitely more than anything you release.
Thank you for joining me in this corner of the internet where we learn that the truest treasure is found in following Jesus. Pull out a chair and pause long enough to let Him order your steps. It’s my pleasure to walk toward eternity with you.