One Thing I Lack Mark 10:21

"One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."



Luke identifies this man as a "young ruler" who came to Jesus asking Him what he needed to do to inherit eternal life.

Jesus answered him saying, 19"You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.' " 20And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth." 21Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." 22But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

The question that I want us to think about today is, "What is it that I lack?" We all come to God with a variety of needs and wants and understand this; God hears every request we make to Him. Not only does God hear our prayers and every request we make to Him, He wants to bless us even more than we want to be blessed! He wants to meet our need and our needs, but there are circumstances and conditions that must be considered before God will act on our behalf.

This young ruler lived a good life. I believe he did a great job keeping the commandments. He lacked one thing, Jesus said. He loved what he had and who he was more than He loved Jesus and even eternal life. His daily life was more important to him than eternal life was.

What is it that you and I lack in our devotion to the Lord? What priorities do we put in front of the Lord and His perfect will for our lives? What is it that you and I lack in our obedience to the Lord? What habits or secret sins do we harbor in our hearts that no one else knows about?

"One thing you lack: Go your way and get that sin out of your heart; get that desire out of your heart; let go of whatever it is that is keeping you from following Me and THEN come and take up your cross and follow Me."