A man who chooses the Jesus script is…
A man who will speak the truth regardless of the consequences.
At times, it can be hard to handle the truth. The old adage applies: The truth hurts. And acknowledging the truth about ourselves often hurts the most.
Read this interaction that Matthew captured between Jesus and a man of great wealth who was forced to acknowledge a truth about himself.
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, 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.
—Matthew 19:16–22
Jesus wasn’t telling this man that following the law makes one saved. He was masterfully holding up God’s standard as a mirror to this young ruler. It revealed what this man thought of himself—that he was a perfect law-keeper. He likely knew the law very well because he recognized Jesus as a teacher. In his self-estimation, he excelled at keeping each law but wanted to know if there was anything else he should do. Jesus could have taken each law one by one, pressed him further, and asked, “So you always love your neighbor as yourself?” But that’s not what Jesus did. He held up a mirror to the truth of what really captured this man’s heart. Jesus told him that if he really wanted to be perfect, he should sell all he had, give it to the poor, and follow him.
Jesus’s words revealed that this man loved his money and possessions more than he loved God. A man familiar with the law would know the first commandment on the list—you shall have no other gods before me. His wealth had become his god. Jesus wasn’t seeking perfection from him. He was showing him what the law was intended for in the first place—to reveal the ways we all fall short and to point to our need for a Savior.
A man who follows the Jesus script speaks the truth to himself. He doesn’t just listen to God’s word; he obeys it regardless of the consequences. He doesn’t just profess Jesus; he follows him. He looks intently at God’s law and then holds a mirror up to himself. He dethrones any little gods (e.g., wealth, reputation, occupation) in his life. He recognizes that he has only one King who sits on the throne. A man who first learns to speak the truth to himself can then, in turn, speak God’s truth to those around him with compassion and grace. That may sound impossible. But with God, all things are possible.
