How Do We Get to Eternal Life?

“Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.” — Mark 10:21–22

Jesus is setting out for Jerusalem, toward certain death, when a religious man kneels before him with one question. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” he asks. But between this earnest seeker and his dream of heaven there is an obstacle: his wealth.

The crux of the problem lies not in the wealth itself but in the man’s affinity for it — and the sense of control it gives him. You see, in the Kingdom of God, God’s upside-down economy, we cannot do ourselves into eternal life at all. Full and everlasting life is a pure gift; we cannot buy or demand or work for it. We cannot make it happen. Instead we must learn to receive what God gives us freely.

The Christian vision depicted here is countercultural; it was back in Jesus’s day too. Our identity in a capitalist system is that we are consumers. As consumers, we are beguiled by a delusion that we can amass happiness by constantly acquiring more and better and bigger. By contrast, Jesus calls us to seek completeness instead of control, to know wholeness through the vulnerability of surrender. 

Jesus calls us to seek completeness instead of control, to know wholeness through the vulnerability of surrender.”

For us, this letting go might feel impossible. But Jesus suggests it happens by the grace of God, for with God all things are possible. It happens when through spiritual practice we draw near to and lean on God, not only our own strength or understanding. That’s why it’s important to pray and meditate consistently, to worship together in community, and to recognize the face of God in one another: We draw near to God by paying attention.

Eternal life is not something to worry about. It’s not something to achieve or to merit. Rather, abundant life is a gift, glimpsed at deepening levels when we create space inside to receive God’s love that’s been there all along.

Loving God, help me make time to rest in You, to attune my attention to the presence of your Spirit dwelling in me. I want to put my trust in you, moment by moment, but it is not easy to let go. Help me, I pray, to trust in the divine flow of love animating my life and drawing me into life everlasting with You. Amen.

Read all of Sunday’s scriptures

Step Into the Story

Here are five ways to think about more deeply about letting go:

Reflection

“Yes, there is still the problem of having too much stuff,” writes pastor Stacey E. Simpson. “It keeps us from realizing our need for God because we use it as a buffer against vulnerability. We use it to fill the emptiness in our souls.”

Spiritual Practice

What does it mean to draw near to God through prayer? Distinguished professor of psychology and spirituality David G. Benner writes, “Prayer is not simply a request for Divine favors. Nor is it, at its core, a form of spiritual work. In essence, it is simply being with God. It is relationship.”

Visual Art

Artist Katherine Sanders shares the creative process of depicting this Gospel scene in a religious icon: “I had to find a way to show that all humanity, whether rich or poor, is a part of God’s likeness and that his wealth was no bar to this — if only he (and we) can recognise it.”

Spirituality

Speaking of money, pastor and speaker Henri Nouwen framed out a spirituality of fundraising for churches: “Generosity, Nouwen believed, invites us into a deeper spiritual life because it asks us to let go of our attachment to money and instead place our trust in God’s abundance.”

Intentional Living

Author and editor Mary Ford-Grabowsky reflects on modern-day Franciscan Sister José Hobday’s commitment to living simply: “Simple living is a relaxed grasp on money, things, and even friends. Simplicity cherishes ideas and relationships. They are treasured more because simplicity doesn’t cling nor try to possess things or people or relationships. Simplicity frees us within, but it frees others, too.”

Kathy Bozzuti-Jones is Associate Director, Spiritual Practices, Retreats, & Pilgrimage, at Trinity Church.