Luke 18:18-30: Excess Baggage Gets Scraped Off

A certain ruler asked him, “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: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall 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 very wealthy. 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 someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”

Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.” - Luke 18:18-30

How can I do what I want and still get God to do what I want? The ruler in this passage is really skilled at avoiding all the "do nots" of the people related 10 commandments . He probably felt pretty good about his spiritual situation. Maybe he wanted Jesus to give him the pat on the back. He didn't fool around with women that he shouldn't, he didn't steal from people, he didn't lie about people and he gave good attention to his mom and dad. 5 out of 6 (coveting was not listed). Not bad.

Then Jesus subtly turns to the God related commandments. Specifically, the first commandment instructs us to have no other gods before Yahweh. So Jesus' command is really a diagnostic question to find out where this ruler's first priority is. "He became very sad" Because in the hidden places of his heart, he thought that he could have both: Have God give him the pat on the back and maintain his sense of security and control and status given by his money. 

I think God will introduce us to situations that are designed to show us where our sense of safety and control really lie. It's not that he does not know. But rather we don't know. These tests are not for the teacher's edification but our education. Ultimately, this ruler had to walk away when he couldn't squeze both into his life. Like the camel, there's not much room in the eye of a needle, all excess baggage gets scraped off. Just the way God wants it.