A young man came running to Jesus and said, “Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16). Jesus said to him, “But if you want to enter life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). The young man said, “All these things I have kept from my youth up. What lack I yet?” (Matthew 19:20). We need to ask ourselves the same question, “What lack I yet?” so we can be sure of going to Heaven. It would be a tragedy if we missed Heaven because something was lacking in our lives, or we needed to correct something.
We are told to “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5). We need to look at our lives and try to see where we are lacking and need improvement. What can we do to be more pleasing to the Lord? In doing this we are told, “Therefore, brethern, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10). Any sin of which we will not repent will cause us to be eternally lost. Jesus says, “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3).
We need to beware of the false teaching of “once saved, always saved”. This is only a lie of Satan. Satan wants us to be lost. Satan doesn’t want us to ask ourselves, “What lack I yet?” We are warned, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). Also we are warned to “beware lest you fall from your own steadfastness” (2 Peter 3:17). Let’s not let Satan lure us into complacency. Jesus has promised, “Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).
To be strong we must regularly feed ourselves on God’s spiritual word in the Bible. We are to “receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). And “desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). This will help us to have a strong faith to protect ourselves because we know that, “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).
We must concentrate on what we must do to inherit eternal life in Heaven. And in doing this, “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:11). We need to look seriously at our own lives to try to see any mistakes or failures we are making that could keep us out of Heaven, by asking ourselves, “What lack I yet?”
— Ron Boatwright
