Transformed – teen devotion – October 14, 2018
Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Matthew 19:16-22
Rebel #2 – The Guide
People love a good “how to” guide. We want to know how to fix a phone that got dropped in the toilet. We want to know how to run a little bit faster. We want to know how to do all sorts of things. We even want to know how to get into heaven. This week we consider the guide that we have from our God, the “how to” of getting to heaven.
In Matthew 19, a man came up to Jesus to ask, “What good thing must I do to get eternal life?” He had the idea that if he did the right “good thing” he could get heaven. He was looking for a “how to” guide from Jesus. Jesus did give him a guide, but he couldn’t follow it, so he went away sad.
Take a moment to evaluate yourself and your relationship with God. How close to God are you on a scale of 1-10? Rate yourself closer to 1 if you feel like you’ve got a long way to go. Rate yourself closer to a 10 if you feel like you’re doing a good job in your relationship with God. After you’ve evaluated your relationship with God, read on.
I would be willing to guess that you didn’t rate yourself a 10. You looked at your relationship with God and felt like you weren’t quite where God wants it to be. You’re not a “10.” By doing this, you’re evaluating yourself the way this man did. You’re looking for a “how to” list from God to be good enough. If you can to do all the right things, you’d be a 10. But if you keep evaluating yourself this way, you’ll always walk away sad because you’ll never be a 10.
Jesus wanted this man to completely give up on his own ability to be good and find his goodness in Jesus. This man walked away before Jesus could tell him the only way to be good. Jesus would have told him, “I am your goodness. I am your righteousness. I am your perfection.”
We are perfect because Jesus declares us so. We are good because Jesus declares us to be good. We are righteous because Jesus makes us so. The apostle Paul says it like this: “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). So you see, you already are a “10” in God’s sight.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, I am your sin. You took on my sin and claimed it as your very own. You give me your righteousness, and by faith, I claim it as my very own. You became what you were not, to make me what I was not. By your grace, I’m a “10” in your sight. Thank you. Amen.
