The encounter between the rich young man and Jesus did not lead to a better outcome for him. Apart from the fact that he was unwilling to let go of his possessions, the core issue was that he didn’t truly trust Jesus, the “Good Teacher” he had sought. Ironically, the person he longed for turned out to be someone he didn’t trust! But why couldn’t this trust be established? The reason might be that he firmly believed his many possessions were the result of his hard work, and have nothing to do with God. The contradictions here expose the dark side of human nature, which is selfishness, greed and pride.

Let’s reflect on ourselves as Christians. Are our motives for seeking faith sometimes impure, similar to the rich young man?

Do we often focus on our own interests, rather than desiring a relationship with the Lord built on mutual trust, love, and a willingness to give oneself to each other?

We cannot deny that these are crucial foundations for establishing a healthy and lasting relationship. To be honest, just examining our usual prayers reveals that most of the time, we mainly hope for God’s care, consideration, and provision for ourselves. We often pray for our needs and desires. But we have little interest in God Himself, nor do we care about His needs and feelings. No?

In front of God, we just keep asking Him for this and that. Of course we need to rely on God. But we cannot deny that this relationship also hides self-centeredness and even greed.

In addition, we have not delved into the true requirements and standards Jesus has for us as Christians, so that we fail to see what we have failed to do. Instead, we may wrongly believe that God has not taken care of our needs and has not granted all our prayers. When we are dissatisfied, we are like a greedy child, very unlovable! And when God answers our prayers in other ways, we are too slow to understand and blame God for “not being able to deliver”. Not only are we not grateful, we also lose faith in God! We have really misunderstood this “Good Teacher”, this God who loves us so much!

If we realize that we have this tendency, we need to take heart. The consequence of the above problems is that we lack awareness and gratitude for the tangible and intangible gifts in our lives. Not only are we not satisfied, we also fail to recognize that these blessings are unconditional gifts from God. Instead, we attribute them to ourselves, as if everything depends on our own ability and our own merit.

And when one day, God presents us with a “demand”, like asking us to give up everything, just as He requested the rich young man to sell all his possessions and give to the poor, it will be even harder for us to let go of all the things we think we have earned through hard work, whether it’s material possessions, like wealth, or intangible aspects, like our health.

Under the influence of this kind of thinking, it is no wonder that the rich young man seemed completely unable to hear the important words that Jesus clearly told him: after selling all his possessions and giving to the poor, he would have “treasures in heaven”! However, the rich young man’s attention was solely on losing what he considered his life’s foundation – his many possessions. How could he not go away grieving?

From this example, we can see that the shortcomings of our character and sinful nature affect the image of God in our minds and our relationship with God. Please do not underestimate this issue because it can lead to erroneous understandings and interpretations of God or events in our lives, influencing our reactions and motivations for corresponding actions. This directly impacts the outcome of situations and creates obstacles in relationships! These are lessons we can glean from the story of the rich young man, and we absolutely should not overlook them.

Hopefully, you will agree that this less-than-ideal situation ultimately has a serious impact on our willingness to put God first in our lives and make Him our ultimate love. This once again explains why we need to diligently examine ourselves every day, reflecting on our personal deviations and sinful nature to straighten the path of our relationship with the Lord.

Reflection

Is the motivation behind your pursuit of faith and building a relationship with the Lord pure? Do you pay attention to God’s feelings and needs, or do you mainly focus on your own needs and expectations?

Are you more inclined to make many demands of God while expecting little in terms of what you need to contribute?

Do you easily notice both the tangible and intangible blessings in your life? And do you attribute these blessings in your life to God?

Today’s Prayer

Lord, once again, thank You for giving me an opportunity to reflect today. It has brought to my attention many blind spots in my character, actions, and in my relationship with You. It has opened my eyes and made me feel ashamed. I realize that I have not been attentive and have not taken these matters to heart. I believe that I have hurt You in the past, perhaps even pierced Your heart.

Lord, I apologize for my selfishness, greed, pride, and the harm I have caused You because of them. I am sorry, my beloved God. Please forgive me.

Because of these blind spots, I have been unable to see and feel how good You have been to me. I pray for the grace to have a heart to examine myself daily, learn to empathize with You, and develop a sensitivity to care about Your feelings and needs.

Lord, I love You.

Fundraising Appeal

The following is the “Farmer of Hearts: Finding God in All Things” team, including FLL staff and volunteers.
Please kindly pray for them. May God protect them and sustain their physical, mental and spiritual well-being.

Project Manager: Michael Lam
Writer: Paul Yeung
Editors: Bonny Chan, Rosa Tse
English Editors: Bonny Chan, Paul Yeung
Mandarin Editor: Anthony X.
Cantonese Narrator: Margaret Woo
English Narrator: Bonny Chan
Mandarin Narrator: Rene Ren
Audio Editors: Fonte Ip, Sander Lee, Margaret Woo
YouTube Editors: Fonte Ip, Sander Lee, Arnold Chan
Graphics: Francis Lai, Rosa Tse
Website: Patricia Young, Angela Wong
Podcast: Angela Wong
Social Media: Yollie Leung, Carmen Tsang, Rosa Tse
Theme Music:
“Friends Only” by Introvert Pianist https://www.youtube.com/@introvertpianist
“Watercolor Lilies” by Aaron Kenny https://youtube.com/@contactkennya