The CNN meteorologists can explain the hurricane only in terms of barometric pressure and water temperatures. We know, however, that at its root this natural disaster isn't natural at all. It is a [fallen] creation crying out, "Adam, where are you?"

My hometown isn't there anymore. But, then again, it never really was. The hope after Katrina is not for civil defense and architectural rebuilding. It is for Biloxi, Miss., and all of the created universe, to be redeemed and restored in Christ. There will come a day when the curse is reversed, and the Gulf Coast along with the entire cosmos fully reflects the glory of a resurrected Messiah. And John sees in his vision that, on that day, "the sea was no more" (Revelation 21:1). He also sees that in the Holy City, "nothing unclean will ever enter it" (Revelation 21:27).

That includes the curse of Eden and all of its children: including a hurricane named Katrina. On that day, and not until then, nothing will ever threaten the New Jerusalem, our hometown.

In Mark 10, we come across a young man looking for hope! By the world’s standards, he has everything going for him. Mark 10 simply calls him “a man.” In Matthew 19:22, he is referred to as a ‘young man.’ In Luke 18:18, he is referred to as a ‘ruler.’ A skeptic might ask, “So which is he? Is he a man, a young man, or a ruler?” Our answer would be, “Yes!” You see, the Gospels were written by men from a different perspective, yet unified in inspiration. Together, they paint the picture.

The picture is this: he is young and has the whole world before him. He is still strong, ready to conquer life! He is rich, which is what the ‘ruler’ usually typifies. He is someone in the upper ranks of that society. He is someone who looks on the outside as if he has hope.

But he gives away what is going on in the most important place --- his heart. He asks Jesus the most important question that could ever come across the lips of man: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” One can only speculate as to what brought this inquiry to light. Was it the emptiness of status and wealth? Was there a death in his family or the death of a close friend that brought eternity to his young mind? What was it? One could only speculate.

Has God brought this question to your mind? Have you been thinking in your heart of hearts, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Do you lie awake at 2:00 in the morning asking yourself, “If I were in that hurricane and I died, what would happen then?”

Take this tract that you have in your hand. On the front it reads, “In your personal opinion, what does it take for a person to …” then you turn to the next page and read in bold letters, “go to heaven?” The terms ‘heaven’ and ‘eternal life’ are synonymous. God had already place this question in this rich young ruler’s heart. Is it a question that’s in your heart?

All of us who are truly Christian have already pondered this question --- or at least we should have. Think about it --- have you truly considered the fact that you will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and have to give an account for your lives? He won’t look on your good works or your status nor your wealth.

He will look to see for whom your heart beats! And if your heart truly beats and lives for something or someone other than wholeheartedly toward Jesus, then you must take time to “examine yourselves” and evaluate your heart to see whether you are in the faith (which we will see what that means in a moment).

The rich young ruler needed some perspective. Jesus said, “Why do you call me good? There is no one good except God alone!” Is Jesus saying He’s not God? That’s not His point at all. This was for the sake of the rich young ruler. He wanted the young man not only to grasp what he was asking, but also whom he was addressing. The young man only saw Jesus as a rabbi, not as Yahweh in the flesh!

Then Jesus proceeds. He says, “You know the commandments” then he lists them. The young man said, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth” (Mark 10:20). The “from my youth” portion is very interesting. This young man was raised in the Jewish faith and likely went through a ritual that every Jewish boy entering manhood goes through, and that is a ‘bar mitzvah’ which means ‘son of the law.’

You see, at age 13, every Jewish boy enters manhood through this ceremony. They prepare for it by learning portions of the Law in Hebrew. This ceremony shows that this young man is one who understands, accepts, and vows to live out the commands of the Law --- he is a true ‘bar mitzvah’, a son of the law! And if you were to ask him or any other of the Jewish faith how they may know salvation, they will say “Fear God and keep the commandments.”

Now look at your tract. “What in your personal opinion does it take for a person to go to heaven?” What are the four reasons? “I don’t know!” “I don’t care!” “Good works!” “Relationship with Christ.” The rich young man asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Here’s the issue with the rich young ruler. He had two possible motives for asking Jesus the original question. The first is this: he was trying to absolve his conscience. He simply wanted to be reaffirmed, thus quieting his guilty heart. The second is this: he found ‘fearing God and keeping the commandments’ in and of themselves insufficient to assure his heart.

I believe it was the second, and I’ll tell you why. Notice his initial reaction when he approached Jesus. The text says, “He ran up and knelt before him.” This is contrary to how someone in the upper crust of society would do --- very undignified. But it seemed he didn’t care… he was all about getting to Jesus.

Now, take a look at your tract again. The next verse is this “For all have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God.” “Fear God and keep the commandments?” According to Jesus, this cannot be done. God has said in Leviticus 11:44 and again in 1 Peter 1:16 to “Be holy for I am holy.” God is a consuming fire --- sin cannot stand in His presence. Sin is consumed in His holy presence --- and if we are sinners, we will be consumed as well for all eternity! He is holy --- that’s His nature!

What is our hope? Obviously it is not good works, but all of our good works put together over a lifetime --- and all of the good works done by everyone, everywhere throughout time cannot do it. Why? Because it is not a matter of changing the behavior of a man --- it’s a matter of changing the heart of a man! So what is our hope?

FAITH! Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” God grants us the gift of grace and even the gift of faith! What does FAITH stand for. Look at p. 3:

Forsaking
All
I
Trust
Him

You see, our flesh outside of Christ seeks only self rather than God. In fact, we turn our backs on God. Some of you who aren’t Christians may say, “Now wait a minute! I have a high regard for God.” Let me ask you this: are you willing to forsake everything you have to follow His Son? Most don’t have faith in anyone but their own ways and schemes. Their motto is “Forsaking God, I Trust Me.” And look at the acronym. It’s not FAITH but FGITM. Now sound that out: F-GIT-M. What does that say? “F’git Him.” And that’s exactly what we do outside of Christ --- we forget all about God because we’re too consumed with ourselves.

This rich young ruler has a high regard for God, right? He feels good about keeping the commandments right? Then Jesus drops the bomb with these words: “You lack one thing.”

Let’s stop there. Let that sink in. That phrase can sure turn a conversation, can’t it? You’ve been there, I’m sure. You’re sharing your faith, things are going well. But then you mention the sin inheritant in every human heart. They either grow upset over the notion of sin, dismiss the idea that they are sinners, or feel the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. Much of this can turn, dear friends, on your attitude.

Look at verse 21. There are two things that Jesus does --- one is a given, but the other is key. It says that Jesus was “looking at him.” That’s what we do --- we look at people (or at least we should) when we speak to them. The question is: what is behind your eyes? For we see of Jesus that he “loved him.” And when we share our faith, do we take this tract and shove it down someone’s throat? Or do we come with love?

And even then, our love must be directed rightly. Jesus loved this man, but that did not prevent Him from telling him the full thrust of what it means to follow Christ. Far too many churches have taken the so-called ‘rough edges’ off the Gospel and off of how to be saved in order to not only reach more people, but to be thought of as a progressive group in the eyes of the world.

And what did Jesus tell him? “Go sell all of your possessions, then you can you can follow me?” Have some taken this to heart? Yes. For there are some who believe that you can only be a good Christian and follower of Christ when you sell all your possessions and give the proceeds to the poor.

Many struggle with materialism even now, don’t they? They go to great lengths to keep their riches intact. They rush into burning houses and die in the process, or lose their lives when standing up to an armed robber. In 1975, six armed gunmen broke into the deposit boxes in a London bank and stole valuables worth more than $7 million. One lady, whose jewelry was appraised at $500,000, wailed, "Everything I had was in there. My whole life was in that box." What a sad commentary on her values! In fact, this poem speaks volumes, doesn’t it?

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray my Cuisinart to keep
I pray my stocks are on the rise
And that my analyst is wise
That all the wine I sip is white
And that my hot tub's watertight
That racquetball won't get too tough
That all my sushi's fresh enough
I pray my cordless phone still works
That my career won't lose its perks
My microwave won't radiate
My condo won't depreciate
I pray my health club doesn't close
And that my money market grows
If I go broke before I wake
I pray my Volvo they won't take.

He did not want to turn --- He did not want to repent! But does not Luke 13:3 in your tract say, “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish”? You know the context: Jesus tells the crowd, “You think that just because that tower fell and killed 18 meant that those 18 were worse sinners that you --- I tell you, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” All of us will meet a physical death --- whether by a tower, whether by illness, whether by old age, or even by a Category Five hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico!

Some have pontificated that since this hit New Orleans (“Sin City,” as it is referred to) that this make them worse sinners because this hit. I tell you and Jesus tells you, unless you repent, you will all meet your demise just like them. But notice John 3:16:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

So if you want to be saved, Jesus Christ must be your treasure! To confess something means to see it as God sees it. Christ is the treasure of God! After all, Jesus is God’s Son! If Jesus is God’s treasure, and we are to see Jesus as God sees Him, He must be your treasure, your delight, your longing, your utmost satisfaction! He must be your food, your water, your light, your heat! Your heart must beat for Him and Him alone.

This is what Jesus is telling the young man in a subtle way. You want eternal life? I am the way, the truth, and the life --- no one comes to the Father except through me! (John 14:6). His junk was his treasure --- not Christ! Eternal life was standing right before him --- and he walked away because his life was in his stuff!

Conclusion

What about you? What about you who have yet to receive Christ? Will you walk away this morning? Are you treasuring something in this life that will be here today and gone tomorrow? If a hurricane were to wash away all your possessions, what then? Would that wash away your hope as well? Then you need to come to Christ who created the world and rules the world and is above the world --- and therefore offers hope that the world cannot! He is worthy to be treasured!

You say, “It is too hard to give it up!” You are right: Jesus says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” You are right indeed! You cannot do it! “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27).

What about you, dear Christian? Is Jesus Christ your utmost treasure this morning? Have you lost your first love? If you find that He is not your first treasure --- if you find that you have not forsaken all and trusted in Him, then you need to come and do business with God this morning and get your relationship with Him remedied!

Hope amidst the hurricanes of life --- Jesus offers you that this morning. Won’t you come?

Copyright © 2005 by Treasure The Word. All rights reserved. You may reproduce up to 1000 copies without express written consent. All we ask is that you include the author and the ministry he represents, along with contact information: Matthew Perry, Treasure The Word, c/o Boone's Creek Baptist Church, 185 N. Cleveland Rd., Lexington, KY 40509. webservant @ treasuretheword.org. (859) 263-5466.