“Someone came to Jesus with this question: ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’ ‘Why ask Me about what is good?’ Jesus replied.” (Matthew 19:16-17a NLT)
Have you ever wondered why Jesus asked this young man the question in the above verse? Could it be had the man known the answer to that question he would have had an answer to his own question? Think about it. Jesus is the embodiment of all that is good, not simply because He did good things, but because He was God poured into human flesh.
To recognize Jesus as good in some ways was to acknowledge that He was the Author of goodness, thus, the Author of eternal life. When Jesus asked a question, He always asked with purpose in mind. Think of His question to the disciples in Matthew 16:13: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The more quickly someone identifies who He is, the more quickly many other questions they might have will be answered.
As a rule, we don’t place much trust in someone we don’t know. Perhaps that’s why we like to get referrals before contacting someone to do work for us or before we try a new restaurant or begin attending a new church. Trust is implicit in the building of a strong, long-lasting relationship, with God or anyone else.
Ray Majoran addresses this in his prayer (See Instructions for Life – 03-03-25): “God who reigns above nations and speaks peace into storms, You are the unshaken King whose kingdom knows no end. You are not threatened by shifting powers, not rattled by headlines, not moved by the rise and fall of empires. Your commands flow from perfect love, Your statutes from eternal wisdom, and Your call to us has never changed — to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with You (Micah 6:8). You are not asking for our commentary. You are asking for our trust.”
What’s the Lord asking you today? If you’re not hearing Him ask any questions, you’re not listening. Are you reading His Word? Are you listening to His voice? The Lord is always speaking, so, we must constantly be listening. He’ll ask things like: “Did you see that? What does that mean to you? What will you do about what you just read? When are you going to call _________? When will you write the note to ____________?”
His questions are always personal, relevant, and demand a response. Implicit in His question is His desire for us to trust Him to guide us in the answer we will give. We can’t obey without the Spirit’s empowering enablement, thus, to be obedient we must trust Him to do what only He can do, while at the same time enabling us to do what only we can do on His behalf and to His glory and honor.
Whenever we seek to answer a question the Lord asks in the energy of the flesh, we run the very real risk of missing the point of the question in the first place. The young man in Matthew 19 (above), while He knew who Jesus was by reputation, he didn’t understand that He was God poured into human flesh and deserved his unreserved allegiance. Had he understood, he would have brought His riches and laid them at Jesus’ feet in humble submission to His will asking only: “Where do we go from here?”
When we’re lost, we question God. When we’re saved, we report for duty.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 