Sad

When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Matthew 19:22

He was following the rules. He was fulfilling the obligations. But he was not following Jesus. He did not respond to Jesus’ call to sell all and follow Him. Upon hearing Jesus’ call for him and knowing he can’t leave his possessions for a lifelong devotion, he went away sad.

Scan your life today. Do you have joy or sadness? Are you following rules or are you following Christ?  Are you fulfilling obligations or are you fulfilling a heavenly call?

The passage above gives us a good test. There is no joy in following rules if you don’t follow Christ. There is no gladness in fulfilling obligations if you don’t fulfill Jesus’ call for you.