A man runs up to Jesus, kneels, and asks, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17).

Jesus answers, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone” (v. 18).

The word Mark uses, agathos, describes goodness in its fullest sense: intrinsic, moral perfection. It is not the casual “good” we use for a nice meal or a kind neighbor.

Jesus is not denying His own goodness. I believe that Jesus is drawing the young man into a deeper question. “Do you understand what you just said? You called me agathos. Only God is good.”

Of course the ruler was right. Jesus, the Word made flesh, is good.

Then comes one of the most tender lines in the Gospels: “Jesus, looking at him, loved him” (v. 21).

Jesus saw the man’s confidence in his own obedience, that is He discerned the idol of earning his way to eternal life, and loved the man anyway. That love is why Jesus says the hard thing: “Go, sell all that you have… and come, follow me.”

Jesus says this, I believe, to expose the man’s idol of self-righteousness and hoarding to himself.

Our idols represent our false sense of our goodness.

Here is the tragedy. The rich ruler stood before the LORD, the Son of God, with eternal blessedness within reach. Yet he turned away, grieving, still wealthy, and still lost.

Being in the presence of the LORD demands transformation.

You may remember the short tax collector, Zacchaeus, who when he met Jesus, gave away half of what he owned (Luke 19:1-8).

The difference was not the size of the sacrifice, or about money per se, but rather about the surrender of the heart and the agreement with the Lord.

I’m very much a “Martha.” I am inclined to work and to want my record of service to be my “goodness.” Thank God that He has decreed that trusting in Christ alone is the only way to be rescued from the penalty of sin.

Ephesians 2:8-9: “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.”

Perhaps you, too, cling to an idol of your own making for your salvation. Do you trust your record, your effort, your goodness?

Let it go.

Instead let’s trust in the finished work of Christ on Calvary.

“With man it is impossible, but not with God” (v. 27). Jesus is the only one who is agathos, and He proved it at the Cross, bearing the penalty we could never pay.

Let’s forsake our idols.

Trust Christ! Follow Christ!

Are you struggling to stop working for your salvation and to rest in what Christ did on the Cross? Tell us about it in the comments. Your story may be the encouragement someone else needs today.

~Blessings, Kimberly