A man approached him and said, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?” Jesus said, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There’s only one who is good. If you want to enter eternal life, keep the commandments.” The man said, “Which ones?” Then Jesus said, “Don’t commit murder. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t steal. Don’t give false testimony. Honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as you love yourself.” The young man replied, “I’ve kept all these. What am I still missing?” Jesus said, “If you want to be complete, go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come follow me.” But when the young man heard this, he went away saddened, because he had many possessions. (Matthew 19:16-22, CEB)
When told to keep the commandments, the man does not respond, “ok.” He asks which commandments he must keep. As if there are some that really do not matter.
And actually, Jesus reminds us here which ones are really important and actually sum up all of the commandments. Love God, and love neighbor. When we default to love, we uphold all the commandments.
To love is to think of others first and put their needs before ours. Not worrying about following the rules, but helping others.
aSacredRebel 