Endless Love

Lu.10: ²⁵ “One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

Even though the expert in religious law had a very questionable motive, the question he asked was very significant regardless of his motive. Jesus focused on the question and provided for you and I what has the potential to totally change our lives. His motive was wrong but the question was right, nonetheless.

I guess it is safe to say his question, “…what should I do to inherit eternal life”, was right for the following two reasons.

The first is that eternity is in the heart of every human being. There is a huge void in the heart of every human being that we try to fill. Some people are trying to fill the void in their lives with alcohol, gambling, illicit sex, money, or with fame. But it is only Jesus that can fill that void in our lives. Only Jesus can satisfy the longing and discontent we feel that nothing else explains. Only Jesus can give you the ‘more’ that you keep seeking and you will not come up short. Guess what? God wants to fill that void in you. In the light of this,  the man’s question is very significant. If he had not asked this question, perhaps, we would have had to read the scriptures further and study deeper to get the answer. But this man made it easy for us.

The second reason why the question, “…what should I do to inherit eternal life”, is so significant is that eternal life can only be inherited. The word ‘inherit’ means to receive by birth. An inheritance is not something you work for or something you earn, you receive it by being a member of a family. You cannot inherit something that belongs to someone else’s father. What this man was saying in essence, was how do I put myself into God’s family, into the lineage of God? How does one come to a place where he or she can inherit from God? How does a person become a child of God?

Even though his question was loaded with sarcasm because as a Jew, he already believes he is a child of God (in fact, Jews believe that only Jews are children of God and rightly so at that time.), I am grateful that he asked the question nonetheless.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I bring my life before You and I ask that You fill every void with the fullness of God in Christ Jesus and make me complete, in Jesus Name. Amen!