They Didn't Ask the Question

“Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you understand it?” He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength and with all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ ” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem…” Luke 10:25-29

Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life? … (Jesus answered) “But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.’” The man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich. Luke 18:18-23

I have read these stories and these verses at least a hundred times, but it was this week that I stopped short and paid attention. At first, I was stumped that Jesus never mentioned himself, that he was the way, the truth and the life and no one gets to the Father, has eternal life, except through him. But he didn’t say that and I found myself wondering why. And then it hit me. They didn’t ask the question.

Here we have two educated men who are seeking the answer to,“How do I inherit eternal life?” Jesus first tells them to obey the commandments, including the two greatest ones, and they both, in their delusional minds, think that they do this already. But that’s impossible because these commandments are impossible. The 2 Greatest Commandments? To love God with every feeling you have, every desire you seek, every move you make, and every thought you have!! And then…and then to be a good Samaritan, to live a life that is focused solely on others. Actively. Sacrificially. At risk to your reputation. And then to give up everything that we own and give it all away. It’s impossible to live like this. The word “impossible” doesn’t even begin to define how hard it is to live the way that Jesus has commanded them and us to live.

I wake up each day new and fresh and ready to love God and others with all my heart. But then I get out of bed. And my thoughts run rampant, my conversations become self-focused, my attention to others begin to wander aimlessly as I head to Amazon to order something that I’ve been thinking about. For me. And, then to add to the heartbreak, to the rich man Jesus said, “It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Jesus has asked the impossible. To receive eternal life, we are to obey these insurmountable commandments and then, on top of that, to live fully and completely for others, bringing healing and hope and resources, basically to give away everything that we have.

Each of these stories end with no resolution. These two very smart men simply walked away because what Jesus was asking of them was impossible. They walked away from receiving eternal life. All because they didn’t ask the question.

What if I fail? 

Actually, there’s no “if.” So the question really is, “What happens when I fail? I can’t have eternal life, then. Right?”

If they’d only asked the question, Jesus would have turned to them so quickly that it would have taken their breath away. They would have been so overcome as Jesus gently and compassionately would have said to them, “I will help you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. I will lead you, encourage you, love you. And I will forgive you.”

How many times have I run, like Jonah, to the opposite corners of the earth to avoid doing what God has asked me to do. To step into a ministry I’ve never done before, to lead a group of hurting women, to pray in faith for family, friends and strangers, to leave my life of safety to head into the unknown, to ask forgiveness, to forgive those who have broken my heart? 

My first response, like the lawyer and the religious leader, was to walk away and say, “I can’t.” But after a few steps, thank goodness, I turned back and said, “What if I fail?” And Jesus, taking from the parable of the Prodigal Son, ran to me each time and said, “I will help you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. I will lead you, encourage you, love you. And I will forgive you.”

I know I’ve got eternal life because I love and have put my trust in Jesus. But as long as I live for God, He’s going to keep asking me to do the impossible. And I hope. I hope that I will learn to stay put and surrender. Because the last thing I want to do is walk away from Jesus discouraged. All because I didn’t ask the question.