"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." (Mark 10:20)
The Ten Commandments that Jesus dealt with was a too easy task for the rich man. He confidently declared, “All these I have kept since I was a boy.” It was not a lie. To give a slight exaggeration, from his mother’s womb he was a sincere Christian for he was very sincere with God’s word and fervent in prayers. Perhaps he did not eat his meal unless he thoroughly memorized the Ten Commandments affixed in front of the dining table.
Those who are accustomed to strict religious life from their childhood have greater possibility of staying within the norms of the church without being drifted away. The hymns singing together with Sunday school friends, the Bible verses recited in unison and various religious educational programs like Summer Bible camp and so on naturally build up the personality and psychology of an individual. Such person would be quite sensitive not only in keeping the formality of the church life but also in observing and maintaining the morality. He would suffer a great deal from guilty conscience even in an insignificant matter. Such person is praised for living an exemplary life in the sight of all.
Generally speaking, this is the best life. In any case, such kind of life cannot be castigated. However, ironically, the problem is that we cannot get eternal life with such kind of life despite its value. If you feel that eternal life is too much of an abstract term in this paragraph, to be more concrete the term eternal life can be referred to as satisfaction. In the same manner, an exemplary life cannot guarantee true satisfaction. However it does not mean that a careless and imprudent life can quench a spiritual satisfaction.
Eternal life, a true satisfaction is the gift comes from the relationship with God. If an exemplary person makes a faithful relationship with God he can experience eternal life. On the contrary, if a person does not have a faithful relationship with God, he can experience neither eternal life nor even its shadow though he may be an exemplary person recognized by everybody. In the face of such ultimate reality, the rich man’s statement, “All these I have kept since I was a boy” does not have any meaning.
The Ten Commandments that Jesus dealt with was a too easy task for the rich man. He confidently declared, “All these I have kept since I was a boy.” It was not a lie. To give a slight exaggeration, from his mother’s womb he was a sincere Christian for he was very sincere with God’s word and fervent in prayers. Perhaps he did not eat his meal unless he thoroughly memorized the Ten Commandments affixed in front of the dining table.
Those who are accustomed to strict religious life from their childhood have greater possibility of staying within the norms of the church without being drifted away. The hymns singing together with Sunday school friends, the Bible verses recited in unison and various religious educational programs like Summer Bible camp and so on naturally build up the personality and psychology of an individual. Such person would be quite sensitive not only in keeping the formality of the church life but also in observing and maintaining the morality. He would suffer a great deal from guilty conscience even in an insignificant matter. Such person is praised for living an exemplary life in the sight of all.
Generally speaking, this is the best life. In any case, such kind of life cannot be castigated. However, ironically, the problem is that we cannot get eternal life with such kind of life despite its value. If you feel that eternal life is too much of an abstract term in this paragraph, to be more concrete the term eternal life can be referred to as satisfaction. In the same manner, an exemplary life cannot guarantee true satisfaction. However it does not mean that a careless and imprudent life can quench a spiritual satisfaction.
Eternal life, a true satisfaction is the gift comes from the relationship with God. If an exemplary person makes a faithful relationship with God he can experience eternal life. On the contrary, if a person does not have a faithful relationship with God, he can experience neither eternal life nor even its shadow though he may be an exemplary person recognized by everybody. In the face of such ultimate reality, the rich man’s statement, “All these I have kept since I was a boy” does not have any meaning.
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