The Key Question

How can we have eternal life? For those who believe in God, this is the key question. We cannot earn eternal life by good deeds as a right. We cannot achieve that state of life or righteousness which is necessary to be acceptable to God. We are just not good enough and never will be.

Eternal life is a free gift won by Christ, Son of God who died on the cross for us.

Yet by the grace of God we can grow more like Him so that we become recognisable as His children.

In the gospel read at Sunday Mass this week we read, “Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17) A rich man kneels before Jesus – what he should do? He recognised the importance of this fundamental life question as a practicing Jew.

Jesus lists the commandments. “You must not kill; You must not commit adultery; You must not steal; You must not bring false witness; You must not defraud; Honour your father and your mother.” (v19)

The man says he has always kept all these. We read Jesus “loved him.” and urges him to give all he has to the poor and follow him. But the man goes away sad because he cannot be parted from his wealth. The man could have become a regular follower of Jesus!  

The apostles are shocked when Jesus tells them that is very hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. For the Jews, wealth was a sign of doing well in God’s sight. So they asked one another, Who can be saved?” (v26) So Jesus then adds, “everything is possible for God.” (v27)  

What about us, Peter says. We’ve left everything? Jesus then gives them the well known teaching about the hundred fold. They will be repaid a hundred times over but, “not without persecutions now in this present time and in the world to come, eternal life.” (V 30)

This Gospel teaching is focussed upon one particular man who is dominated by his riches and perhaps lacks concern for those in need. There is nothing wrong with having possessions if we see ourselves as caretakers for what we have. The really important thing is that God occupies first place in our lives so that His love can shine through us through all we do.

We can give the time and energy to work for justice and peace. Meeting the needs or others in poverty goes beyond charity to challenging injustice in society and the world. In so doing we can fulfil God’s plan for us and by means of his grace and attain to eternal life which is the reason we are here.

So we do this not to earn eternal life by our own efforts but to live the love of God who is love.

Eternal life begins in the here and now.