"The young man said to Him, ‘All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?’" (Matthew 19:20 NKJV)
Jesus was talking to a man who had kept the laws of God, a clean living fellow who most would never classify as a sinner. Jesus knew otherwise. He knew that he was fond of his money and would not give it up. He brought the man to that issue by telling him that if he wanted to be perfect, he had to give everything he had to the poor and follow Him.
Of course the young man could not do it. No one could unless they recognized who it is they are following. Jesus was no mere man. He is the Creator God, sovereign over the universe, over all humanity, even over the ebb and flow of money. If a person cannot trust Him to take care of all their needs, there is no way they will abandon their own resources to follow Him.
The real issue here is not whether the man would give up his money, but whether he understood who he was talking to, who was inviting him on an adventure. The man failed the test. He didn’t have a clue that Jesus could take care of him, not just because he would not give up the stuff that he thought his life depended on — his money, but because he could not acknowledge that Jesus is God in human flesh.
Every day God asks me to abandon something I trust and instead trust Him. Sometimes it is money, but more often it is just my own judgment about things. When I remember who He is, this is not as difficult as it sounds. Besides, there is a huge appeal in adventure!
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