The Gospel tells us a story of a certain lawyer who wanted
to test Jesus by asking a question for which he already knew the answer. Jesus
responded to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
(Luke 10.26) After the lawyer precisely quoted from the Law, Jesus said, “You
have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” Yet, the lawyer wasn’t satisfied
with his attempt to challenge Christ as he pressed on “wanting to justify
himself.” (Luke 10.28)
We all know how God wants us to live. “You shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all you strength,
and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10.27) But are we
satisfied or do we want to press Jesus further? The lawyer didn’t really desire
to have eternal life. Why else would he press further once the Lord approved of
his answer? The Gospel says, “wanting to justify himself,” because his heart
was not pure.
It wasn’t enough for the lawyer to know the answer; he need
to justify his own actions. The same is true for us. We already know how God
wants us to live. The real question is, “Are we living how He desires or are we
seeking to justify our own actions that fall short of God’s will in our lives?”
God knows the condition of our heart, and when He says, “Go and do likewise,”
He means it. The rest is up to us.
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