“There Is Only One Who Is
Good”
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, 19 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.
Then Jesus said to
his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter
the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the
When the disciples
heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at
them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are
possible.”
Matthew 19:16-26
When
someone asks us how we are, we usually indicate we are good or we are fine. The
reality is that we are neither. The One who is good, because
He is without sin, is Jesus Christ. He has been called the Teacher or
the Good Teacher and both are correct.
Our
Lord challenged man to think about what he was saying in using the term good.
The
next time someone asks how you are, respond by saying you are well. Only Jesus
is good.
God is great and God is good, but without Him we are
neither.
Our Daily Bread –