What lack I yet? (Part II)
Posted By admin1 on October 19, 2008
And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandmetns. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come and follow me” (St. Matthew 19: 17;20-21).
The young man heard what he lacked, and was told of his imperfect ways. Quickly, he forgot what manner of man he was (James 1:13). He did not ask “What lack I yet?” to seek where he was lacking. The young man was totally unprepared to hear Jesus say, “go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor” (St. Matthew 19:21). Our love for God is made perfect by us loving our neighbours as well, hence “by this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments…” (I John 5:2-3). That is what this young man lacked.
It is impossible, to follow Jesus whilst holding on to our possessions. What we own even though useful in this life, may not be useful in the kingdom, nor in service to God. We have to let go of those things which are not useful for our salvation. We have to lay aside every weight and sin which doth so easily beset us (Hebrews 12:1). It is this weight and sin which hinder us from running this race well.
This young man had riches he was holding on to, but these would have no place nor use in the kingdom. Some of us our possessions may not be riches, but are our weaknesses, our infirmities, our habits, and those things which hinder a perfect and complete relationship with God. Sometimes as people we weigh what is important and significant to us, and thus fall into the temptation to use our carnal judgment on what is important to God. The rich young man did not see that giving to the poor was as important as serving God. “But if thou wilt be perfect.” This means that this young man was not yet perfect, thus needed to do certain things in order to be perfect.
The key answer to the question what lack I yet is “if thou wilt be perfect.” That is what we must strive to achieve. Jesus simplified what that perfection entails:”go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and come and follow me.” We must be completely prepared to leave our lives behind, give up our lifestyles and our relations, surrender our lives to his will, and be willing to be led by Him. When we search ourselves, we will be able to find what our spiritual problem is. We cannot follow, unless we are prepared to be led. Being led means willingly giving up our will to His will. Following means doing as Jesus did, hence “if we walk in the light, as he is in the light…” (I John 1:7).
If we want to know what we lack, we have to ask the right person. Not everybody we know knows all about us. We must ask Jesus because he is the directions to our destination. He knows the way, he is the way. He knows the truth because he is the truth (St. John 14:6). In our asking, we have to go to God in prayer. God will reveal what is our lack in Him. Then we must be prepared for whatever the Lord will reveal to us. There is a danger when we ask, “what lack I yet?” not with the intention of looking for what else we can do to be perfect, but asking as a statement to confirm our righteousness. We must ask, “what lack I yet”, not because we think we are complete, but rather because we realize that we are on a spiritual journey, where the need for growth never ends, where the need for learning is never attained. Like Apostle Paul said, not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect” (Philippians 3:12).
The young man had the wisdom to ask the right question to the right person, but he lacked the meekness to receive the word preached to him. Let us search our hearts and ask God to reveal our lack in Him. Let us approach the question, what lack I yet not as an end to the search, but rather as a beginning of our spiritual journey. When we do, we will be able to receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save our souls (James 1:21). “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try
me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and
lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalms 139: 23-24).
COGSOC Copy Right © October/Ethanim 2008
I am not able to go to church today and these words have truly blessed my soul. “Lord I will follow thee where thou goest I’ll go with thee, thy people shall be my people their God shall be my God.” Truly food for thought.
This is a wonderful and I hope that those who are out of the city or cannot go to church will take the time to utilise this these sermons.