"Why do you ask me concerning what is good?" answered Jesus. "There is only One who is good.

No one in this world, is good, except the goodness that had its source in God alone. Therefore no one can claim that treasure as though it was their own. That virtue of goodness, is God's life in us. We were conceived by our parents, who were instrumental, in bringing us into time and space. All that is good, in the flesh, is God's Image and Likeness, in contradictory to the nature of the Devil, that is very much alive, after the fall of Adam and Eve, together with all their descendents. So Jesus said that "No one is good, except God!'

Keep the commandments if you want to enter life."

'Enter life', means that only through obeying the commandments with hearts that are opened to His Spirit, would harvest the gift of eternal life.

What is eternal life? When will it begin?

It starts the moment we embraced Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior, through baptism.

From that moment forth, we are to live a resurrected life, which is eternal. These growth start from humble beginning; in the form of the seeds of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus scatters into our hearts' soil. Whether these seeds, would be given opportunity to grow or otherwise, depended so much on our freewill. Unless we are humble towards God, we would not be able to trust in Him to drain off our prideful human natures, which are great obstacles for the seeds of the Holy Spirit, to grow. The commandments that were given through Moses, were later fully endorsed by Jesus Christ, with the addition of not only justice, but love, self-denial and detachment, from even what are rightfully ours. By human wisdom and understanding these are outright absurd and foolishness. These were the falsehood and ignorant spread and instilled by the Devil. With knowledge of God as our Heavenly Father and Lord of all creation, seen and unseen, we would not have doubted, His generosity and ability to provide for all of us, whether those that are seen or unseen. We can see our biological parents as the providence of our physical needs, but we could not see that indeed, God was channeling His 'food', love and mercy, through our parents to us. We would abide by the rules of love given by our human parents, as we truly sees them, but the souls, need God, who provide life to them. Our souls tried to out-shine the human nature, but the victory usually goes to the flesh, not the souls, but God is the Lord and master of both our natures. Through this absolute power that He holds, He can overturned all wills and powers of Man and all enslaving spirits of the flesh, world and Devil.

'What commandments?' he asked.

Jesus answered, "Do not commit murder;

Rarely, human would dared to use weapons and inflict physical injuries and death, unless provoked and insanity. Jesus trusted in the will of God for Him. He knew it through and through, that no one can hurt and kill Him, unless that was the time destined by God. Even the natures and persons who would be allowed to inflict hurt and take His human life was long destined by God, as He sees, through the evil of Man's heart. Therefore as precious and beloved Children of God, whose hair in our heads are all counted, need to fully trust in God and not even took provocation as an excuse to commit sins against God. Murder is taking the lives of another person, whom are equal to us. Both are the Image and Likeness of God tainted by impurity and sin. All of us had a diamond hidden, in our hearts, awaiting to be fully revealed and formed. To take another person's life, is robbery. Robbing God, a place in time and space. All of us had a soul, inside the human flesh. To take the body or flesh away means robbing God of a 'home' for His souls and Life. Although, by mere words, another home would be created in time and space, yet who are we to meddle in the goodness of God?

Murdering our own souls is suicidal, which most of us had in most time committed. Death souls are without the Life of God in us. That is spiritual death. These spiritual death souls, had evil spirits or other adversary spirits, who are rival of God. They were thieves and robbers, who do not own, our physical or spiritual lives, but stole their ways into them. With their presence in those spiritual deaths, they would station there, and inflict hurt and even tried to kill and destroy other souls.

These could be done through the manifestation of evil in us, by our malice, curse, wicked, cruel, immoral, perverted, expression of words and actions.

do not commit adultery;

These can be categorized into basically two orders of adulteries. These are spiritual and physical. Against God and against another human being. Many of us had unknowingly hurt God, by claiming ignorant as an excuse, yet God had channel the 'Light' through. Man. Man had loved the darkness and lived their lives among the people of the same. Standing beside another sinners, like or darker than us, would amount to our deceitful holiness. Standing, beside God, would surely bring us into deep remorse, us the Light of Christ shines, through our dark hearts, revealing all the tiny particles of sin.

Jesus' death, is an offering of His whole Life to His Bride. It was and is an Everlasting Covenant. This covenant is unbreakable, till it is perfected in heaven. When we were baptized, we enter into this covenant. We are married to Christ. Breaking away from Jesus is spiritual adultery, which Man had in the past and presence, blindly committed.

Concerning the lesser ones are those involving the human flesh. We have no right to take another person's body, spirit and God's Life, as though our own, unless we are willing to offer ours, which is called 'Conjugal Love'. This involves offering and giving of oneself to the spouse, who expect the same from the other party to the marriage. With this purity of human love, it involves the spirits and souls as well. When it involves the spirits and souls, God had to be called in. Without God this form of love, although there are still purity left, in God's sight, will surely collapse.

Sinfully desiring for others affection, with the will of pursuing conjugal relationship, without ourselves 'free' to be able to give others the same, contravened the divine law of God. Even though, this is merely in the thought and hearts of Man, yet God can see all these, even before they come into our lives.

do not steal;

These also involve two natures, that are; spiritual and physical or human.

Concerning spiritual; stealing is robbing and taking what God had reserved for others to ourselves. What are they?

By deceiving and imparting perverted teaching, to others, thus diverting them away from God and the Truth. Participated with the Devil as their instruments to steal from God.

God had reserved good pastures and spring of living water for His Lambs and Sheep, had we as hired Shepherds of the Lord, given to them, without holding back for ourselves and our selfish purposes, by saturating them with the pastures and water of the earth?

Only tainted human flesh, would ever desires for the water and pastures of the earth, not the purity of our flesh, souls and God's Spirit, in us.

Physically, stealing is taking what does not belong to us, without permission or consultation.

As parents had we stolen, what God wants to give to our children through us?

As teachers had we been generous or are we halting the spring of knowledge, which are bountiful in us, from the students?

As employees, had we stolen the company's time and resources, for ourselves, remorselessly?

As employers, had we exploited and manipulated the weaknesses and quietness of theirs, for our selfish benefits?

What God had provided for us, had we willingly shared with other Christians and our neighbors as a whole?

do not accuse anyone falsely;

Gossiping from extraction in a dictionary means; 'conversation or report about the details of other people's behavior and private lives, often including information that is not actually true'.

Is this a sin, if it is true?

This involves the motives of the gossip; whether it had become slandering, which had its evil and selfish purposes or mere fact spreading, with God's will at heart.

Would this gossips amount to destroying or selfishly, tarnishing another's reputation and good image, which would be destructive towards another, whom Jesus called us to love; that is our neighbor.

Who is our neighbor?

They are the people, beside us.

As Man, our neighbor is the one beside us, that is another human being.

Would this gossip, tarnish or destroy the good image and reputation of members of the church, whom Jesus had consecrated and uplifted to become members of His Mystical Body?

Would this gossip, dishonor our parents, guardians and all those who provide, nurture and love us?

Spreading news to build up the church, lives of others, as a whole the Kingdom of God on earth, in the people that God had created is essential, in contrast to words of destruction in the mouths and hearts of those who bored false witnesses, with the desire to destroy God's creatures on earth.

respect your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as you love yourself."

Parents are the instruments and bosom of God, to bring us into this world. God had given blessing to parents to be gifted with the ability to love and care for their offspring. Homes and loving family lives are environment, whereby God shall, through our parents, patiently as nurseries, for His love to be given and grow.

We are told to love God, so are those bearers of God's love and Light. To respect and honor them, is indeed showing our gratitude and gratefulness to God, who had given these gifts to us.

Although human parents are tainted by sins and its desires, yet we only have to focus on the goodness and purity, that are still alive in our parents.

'I have obeyed all these commandments,' the young man replied.

'What else do I need to do?'

This young man, expect approval from Jesus. He had not been able to experience 'eternal life' personally. He was unsure of his future destiny. Jesus reminded him, there is something that is lacking, which is essential for him to experience 'life', that he found too hard to detach and give-up. This life is sharing in the nature of God. He and we too had to give-up the most precious element, in our lives, in order to be able to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. These could be our most treasured wealth, relationship, worldly wisdom and its values, positions, authorities and power, conceitedness and pride, etc. It does not mean mere physical detachment, but we must be able to put God above all these. That is to be able to say to ourselves, 'with or without all these, I could still survive and live as usual, but certainly not without God!'

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me."

True disciples of Jesus, had to detach themselves from the troubles, which worldly things, caused us. They had to fully concentrate in their missions that Christ had entrusted to them. The first disciples of Jesus left their families, relatives and friends, in order to follow Jesus.

This is the teaching of the Beatitudes; which meant, what is added, would be subtracted later. While on earth materially aplenty, would later amount to spiritual poverty, whereas those materially poor, would be spiritually rich.

Should we take this on literal understanding or is the meaning deeper than what appear at surface?

We must remember, we are in this world as a pilgrim. We are just passing by, so it is useless to build a huge mansion and own plenty of properties, in a foreign land.

Then all Christians would be materially poor, weak and exploited by others?

What had been given to us, excessively does not belong to us, but others. God is asking us to pass around the 'bread', just like the feeding of the five thousands. We are not supposed to hold the whole basketful of bread and fishes for ourselves, but take just enough to fill up the stomach, then pass the rest to others. Those who had fulfilled the roles God had entrusted to them, would be given much more later on as God had found in them a trustworthy hands.

When the young man heard this he went away sad, because he was very rich.

Jesus then said to his disciples, "I assure you; it will be very hard for rich people to enter the Kingdom of heaven. I repeat; it is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle."

Clinging and attaching ourselves obsessively, what is of this world, would amount to ourselves homeless, in the land of God. Only those who are orphans, poor, sick, sinners and prostitutes, who felt unworthy; truly need God. God looks at the homeless, lost sheep and lambs without a shepherd, materially poor, spiritually sick who come with tears in their eyes, yearning for God's providence; would God ever reject them?

Surely not. God would embrace them and provide them each a comfortable homes, treat them as His Prince and Princesses in the palace.

Those who had material riches in aplenty and still not complacent, would cling hard and tight to these as their refuge and stronghold, not wanting to know these were mere dirt and dust of the earth. They had tainted what was supposed to be God's Providence and goodness, by halting them for themselves. These were the attitudes and characters of the Devil, whom Jesus called 'your father'. Sinners who refused to turn away from their sins, embraced the world and the Devil as their 'father', instead of God. They refused God and His Spirit.

We must be aware, even these devilish characters, are within and alive in the church, as in the past and present. By refusing the Holy Spirit, empowerment in our lives, is snatching and robbing from God. Who are we to be an obstacles, for God to reach the souls. Only through the Holy Spirit, are our souls truly fed. Do not deceive ourselves, that we can offer up what are ours to worship God. All our abilities, whether material and human talents and spiritual gifts come from God alone. If we had fully exploited them for the benefit of our souls, we had indeed pleased the Lord. The Holy Spirit, is Jesus and God with us in our world, after the descent of the Holy Spirit, on the Apostles, later to the whole world. We asked for shower of blessing, are we putting out our hearts' cup, to allow God to fill them, or are we allowing the devil in unity with the sinful flesh to fill these cups. These cups, only need God's Spirit to its fullness, not the spirit of this; still not fully purified world. Why not fully purified?

Jesus died and He had conquered all laws of natures and gave us the Spirit of freedom and love, but our hearts and its sinful desires still harbored the sinful spirits of the Devil and flesh. It would not have been a sin, without the willing participation of the flesh. It was because Man had in certain sections of our hearts made a pact, friendship or duel, with the Devil, made this a sin.

When the disciples heard this, they were completely amazed. 'Who, then can be saved?' they asked.

Jesus answered. "This is impossible for man, but for God everything is possible."

Then Peter spoke up, 'Look,' he said, 'we have left everything and followed you. What will we have?'

Jesus said to them, "You can be sure that when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne in the New Age, then you twelve followers of mine will also sit on thrones, to rule the twelve tribes of Israel.

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake, will receive a hundred times more and will be given eternal life.

But many who now are first will be last, and many who now are last will be first.

' What good must I do to receive eternal life?'

This is action and reward. What service should I give to qualify for eternal life?

Jesus said to 'love God with all your heart, soul and mind and to love others as we love ourselves'.

Putting ourselves last and others before us. Denying ourselves and giving all emphasis to love God and others.

This includes detaching ourselves from the materials of this world. By setting our hands free from holding fast to the material things, and only then we can concentrate both hands on seeking God. We cannot put one foot in a boat and one in another or we shall surely sink. Therefore as the storm is rising and ready to devour us, let us put both feet firmly on the boat of Christ and sail safely to our destination. We should not waste time in uncertainty.

Jesus said if the young man wanted to be a perfect child of God he must sell everything and follow Him. The young man had kept the rest of the commandments but to detach himself from his wealth was never mentioned in the commandments of God. He was perfect in every way and even his wealth was lawfully gained but it could hinder him from seeking spiritual wealth. Spiritual wealth is contrary to physical wealth.

For those who cling fast to the world would surely sink as the world and everything disappear before their sight. For those who cling fast to God will inherit eternal life and faith to the height of sharing God's possessions and glory.

To God everything is possible does not mean yes! The rich man can definitely enter Heaven but by the power of grace he can also live the poor life of a humble child of God.

The disciples wanted to be sure that after sacrificing all material possessions, their families and loved ones, they would be able to gain eternal life. In their minds they still had a very dim idea of what the Kingdom of God was like.

They envisioned it as a majestic Kingdom of power and splendor, they were still far from reaching the ideal. Only after the coming of the Holy Spirit they could understand fully the Kingdom of God.

To know Jesus as Son of Man, that is His Human Nature, with its flesh and human spirit, and to know God the Father, maybe to human knowledge to its distinction and perfection, is far from adequate, without the knowledge and understanding of the Holy Spirit. We need to receive the Trinity God, with our whole hearts, souls and minds. Only with their presence as One Omni-potent God, in our lives, the seeds and trees, that had been planted at baptism can ever produce good fruits and abundant harvest. Human Jesus, without God, would have long failed to fulfill God's Divine vision of the salvation of the world and the souls of human beings. Jesus fully embraced the Holy Spirit, into the core of His Life and lived by the understanding and will of God, with great love and zeal, through the empowerment and presence of the Holy Spirit in Him.

Therefore do not deceive ourselves, but follow Christ Jesus as Son of Man and follow God the Father by embracing the Holy Spirit, like Jesus had, only then we can lived a resurrected lives, in the presence of God. Everyone of us is created special. All of us are to be made worthy by Christ Jesus to be the case for the treasures of God. That is to say, all of us are to be made qualify, to be the Temple of the Holy Spirit, whereby God shall dwell there and moves the hearts, souls and minds of Man, to fulfill His will for us on earth. We would then know the will of God for us.

Reluctant to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit, was mostly due to the power of deceit, spread by Satan and his evil spirits, like a dark blanket that partially or completely veil us from the glorious presence of the Lord.

They would deceive us by saying that we would surely lose our identities and astute values, once we embraced the Holy Spirit. But they did not tell us that indeed, as we were conceived, delivered and grew in this world, we were fed with inferior food, from the world and the spirits that had power over us, because we allow them.

We were trained to LIVE BY THE VALUES AND STANDARDS OF THE WORLD, BUT NOT OF GOD, OUR REAL FATHER.

When we received the Holy Spirit, what had been tainted, corrupted and de-consecrated, would be put right. By then, we would slowly or speedily proceed to live by the Truth not deceit of the Devil.

Jesus said those who give up everything on earth, for the Kingdom of God would gain it back fully in His Kingdom. Yet no amount of wealth and possession, whether legally or illegally earned, would determined our places, in the Kingdom of God, but God through His mercy and grace would consecrate our unworthiness, to be made worthy, if we had humble hearts. Heaven is the pearl of all places, there's no place like Heaven. It is the only dwelling place of eternal creatures, when all things disappear before us only immortal things hold meaning. Whatever we give away in this world, we gain in the next. No man can take the risk because what is spiritual cannot be seen and not tangible. But only by the grace of God when his spiritual eyes are open then he can see with faith, that we were indeed preparing our own homes, in the Kingdom of God.

Faith is by itself a grace and gift of which we do not deserve. Grace is a free gift of God. No man deserves to have grace after plunging into separation from God out of our own selfish fault. The mercy and love of God is grace.

Putting God above all else is what is necessary to be with God in perfect union. The promise of Christ is that when we seek first the Kingdom of God, all else would be provided for us.

His word is truth and power. What He said came into existence. What He says, He means and has all power and authority to implement it.

Praise the Lord. Amen.

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