The One Thing

A certain ruler asked [Jesus], “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: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do 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 a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” (Luke 18:18–27, NIV 1984).

My Musings – When teased by reporters at a Gridiron Club dinner concerning his father’s wealth, candidate John F. Kennedy replied, ” I have just received the following wire from my generous daddy: ‘Dear Jack: Don’t buy a single vote more than necessary, I’ll be #!@*&% if I’m going to pay for a landslide.'” (Presidential Anecdotes, by Paul F. Boller, Jr.) In the 1960 Presidential election, Kennedy won the popular vote by a mere 112,000 votes out of 68 million cast.

In a similar vein, those who believe they can “win” their way into Heaven usually prefer to not do a single thing “more than necessary.” They want to get there, but not by a “landslide.” The fact is a landslide would be insufficient. It only took one act of disobedience to get kicked out of Eden, and it only takes one thing lacking to keep us out of Heaven.

My Advice – The lack of one thing will keep us out. And there is only one “thing” that will get us in. Do you have the “One?” See my “The Born Again Experience” musings. “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

Author: thebrewisamusing

I was raised in a Christian family and my earliest childhood memories include regular Sunday school and Church attendance as a family. I was taught that our Judeo-Christian values were not just a part of our Sunday routine they should be part of our character and influence all aspects of our lives. I was also taught that as important as these values were they could not save us. We must also be “born again” by accepting Christ. View all posts by thebrewisamusing