Luke 18
18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none [is] good, save one, [that is], God.
20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
26 And they that heard [it] said, Who then can be saved?
27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
The man had learned the instructions and kept them, but that wasn't going to save him. Would selling all of his riches have saved him? Nope. Living a life that was very self-sufficient was a life that could easily be lived without God, if his focus and relationship with his God was based on checking off a list and labeling himself good. Jesus asked him not to do something that was difficult for him to do, but impossible. Why did Jesus ask such a task? So that this man would realize his need for God, realize that he hadn't had God, but a checklist. Why does God want us to know his instructions? So that we know they're impossible to achieve, and so that we continually know how big He is, how gracious He is, and how much He loves us.
Any trial in your life, count it as joy!! For it is in the difficult things that you reach out to God. He doesn't make you self-sufficient, but becomes your sufficiency.
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