“Holding On To What Is Dear To You”

Matthew 19: 16-22

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Wow what an awesome story we find in Matthew 19. Far too often I find my self being the rich young man in this story. By no means am I rich, but this story points out a far greater issue then his love for money. It points out the things we hold dear and potentially put before God.

When I came into salvation I came in with a list of rules and I said to God I will give you this, this and this but not that. I wish someone had warned me that Jesus would ferociously go after every area and every piece of my heart. Just when you think you have given God everything he always seems to find something else that he wants. I know for some of you giving God everything is easy, but unfortunately I am more like that young man in this story that walked away sorrowful. Yea I'm a little selfish pray for me! :-)

So I thought it would be helpful if I laid out a few reasons why we don’t want to give up the things we hold dear. Prayerfully this will help us to understand that the greatest possession we could ever have is Jesus Christ! Everything else is temporary and will pass away.

Reason we hold on to stuff

1- (We think we have security in it) I have listed this one first because this is probably the most common one. In this story the young man’s wealth gave him a false sense of security. True security is by putting your hope in the one that created everything. John 1:4 says “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Money will never be able to fill the void we have in our hearts it’s a relationship with Jesus Christ that fulfills.

2- (We think we have given Him enough already) This young man kept all of the commandments yet he was still lacking something. Its easy for us to become religious minded and think well I have followed all of the rules so I’m good, when this story points out that you’re not good. The great thing about the Gospel is that it works from the inside out. Gods not after the list of rules that you have kept but after your heart.


3- (We think our treasure is here on earth) The easier our lives become, the more enjoyment we derive from our possessions, and the greater the temptation to store up treasures on earth, instead of in heaven. We must remember we are aliens here that are just passing through this is not our home. (1 Peter 2:11) "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul".


So my prayer today is that God would shift us from building our foundation on possessions and build it on Jesus Christ. If you see yourself in this story like I do you probably need to repent and ask God to help you in that area. Ill close today’s blog with this question. Are you willing to part with anything that might keep you from seeking true joy with Jesus?

Father help us to realize that you alone can satisfy the deepest longing and desires of our heart. No other treasure can compare with you, keep me free from being possessive or discontented and give me joy in having you alone as my Treasure and my Portion. It’s in your Son beautiful name I pray Amen.


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