A RICH RULER MAKES A POOR CHOICE: the rich young ruler was conscientious, law abiding, and religious. coming to jesus,
he fell to his knees and asked:"good teacher,what must i do to inherit everlasting life?" in reply, jesus indicated that to gain life the man had to keep gods commandment. when asked to be specific,jesus said: "you must not murder, you must not commit adultery,you must not steal, you must not dear false witness, honor your father and your mother,and,you must love your neighbor as yourself." these were fundamental commandments contained in the law given to moses.the man then said: "i have kept all these; what yet am i lacking?''''-matthew-19:16-20. jesus ''''felt love for him'''' and said: ''''one thing is missing about you:go, sell what thing you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come be my
follower.''''-mark 10:17-21. suddenly thrust upon the young ruler was a weight
decision.what would he do? would he willingly give up material riches and become a follower of jesus, or would he hold on to what he had? would he pursue treasures on earth, or would he seek treasures in heaven?it must have been a difficult choice for him. he was clearly interested in spiritual values, for he kept the law and inquired what more he could do to win god''s favor. his decision? he ''''went off grieved, for he was holding many possessions.''''-mark10:22. the young ruler''s decision was not wise. if he had become a faithful follower of jesus , he could have received what he was searching for-everlasting life. we are not told what happened to that young man. we do know, however, that about four decades later, the roman armies devastated jerusalem and much of judea.many jews lost both their riches and their lives. in contrast with the young ruler, the apostle peter and other disciples made a good choice. they ''''left all things'''' and followed jesus. how that decision benefited them! jesus told them that they would receive many times more than what they left behind.