Mark 10:18-19
How
many times have I heard that response when asking people about heaven! There is
the popular notion that heaven, or at least entrance to heaven, can be earned,
or perhaps is even deserved, if we are just good enough. If we do the right
things, certainly God would not lock us out on judgment day. Sometimes it gets
worded in the negative. “I’ve haven’t murdered anyone?” “I’m not as bad as some
people.”
No
matter how it is worded, some people feel they are getting in because of their
own actions. They feel they have been ‘good enough’ here on earth. It is almost
as if there were a big scale and all the good was placed on one side and all
the bad on the other, and if the scale tipped, even if ever so slightly toward
the good, then you get in. This results in a false sense of security.
The
real problem is the underestimation of the badness of bad. We think sin is just
a little slipup, a little mistake, a temporary lapse in judgment. We think sin
can easily be wiped away with a diaper wipe, and then we are all clean again.
The problem with this view is that sin is pervasive in us. It isn’t simply on
our outside. It penetrates every fabric of our being, affecting every thought
and action from day one. It traces blacken ever water it touches.
A
man came to Jesus wondering what he could do to earn heaven. Jesus cuts him off
at the pass. He does so in several steps. The first deals with his view of who
Jesus is. This man puts Jesus on par with many other religious teachers. He is
just one of the many who have come teaching about God’s ways.
Jesus
stops him in his tracks. He says, if you are going to call me good, and only
God is good, then you are calling me God. Is that what you mean? Are you making
that kind of statement? Or are you just throwing words around without
considering their impact?
But
Jesus is also making a powerful statement about goodness. He says that only God
is good. This man’s attempts to be good must necessarily fall short, since only
God is good. So if he claims to be good, then he must be claiming to be God.
But Jesus knows he isn’t claiming that. He just doesn’t realize how good you
have to be in order to be in heaven.
So
Jesus gives this man the standard list of dos and don’ts, the Commandments. It
is interesting that Jesus only quotes those commandments that deal with our
relationships with other people. He leaves out those that deal with our
relationship with God. Jesus’ focus with this man in on his relationship with
people.
How
is your relationship with people? Do you get along with them? Do you honor them
with your time, talent and attention?
What
is your list of dos and don’ts? Are you keeping score accurately? What is the
prize you get when you have a perfect score?