The encounter between Jesus and the rich young man is instructive about the nature of a spiritual life. The young man shows his sincerity. “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” He imagines a life with God is an accomplishment, something he can achieve by his own efforts, like keeping the commandments. Jesus instructs him to “sell what you have and give to the poor.” This is not one more thing to do in addition to keeping the commandments. It is instead intended to shifting the focus of what he is doing and notice what God is doing. Divesting himself shows the young man is to rely on how God is for him instead of what he is doing for God. Our culture which teaches “there is no such thing as free lunch” needs to learn that lesson. There is a free lunch with God. God loves us first, before we do anything. Throwing ourselves into the arms of God is the path to eternal life.
