The way to eternal life is so simple. A teacher of the Law, hoping to trip Jesus up, asked Him what one needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus didn’t respond with an elegant, long-winded answer or a sophisticated process through which we can be saved. Rather, the Lord turned the question back on the scribe by asking the man what scripture said about his question.
The teacher answered, “To love the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.” Jesus affirmed the man’s answer and told him that if he would do this, he would live. (Luke 10:25-28) There was no way anyone could misunderstand His answer, no way anyone could twist it to fit their ideas. Love the Lord with everything you’ve got, and you will have eternal life.
The way to salvation is so simple that many find it impossible to believe. How could something so valuable be so easy? We’re accustomed to having to work until we’re exhausted if we want to achieve the best things in life. But God’s ways are not like man’s. (Isaiah 55:8-9) He says, “Here is the priceless possession, and it is yours for the asking.” (Isaiah 55:1) You can look for a catch, but there isn’t one. Unless, of course, you count the one that says you must die to yourself and follow Him. (Luke 9:23-24; Mark 8:34-35) Does that push the price tag beyond what you can afford?
It’s not that salvation is elusive, but that we don’t want to pay the ridiculously discounted price. The penalty for sin is death. (Romans 6:23) A single sin will cost you your life. (James 2:10; Ezekiel 18:4) Or you can trade your temporary and useless life for true significance and eternal life with Christ Himself. He already gave up His life to spend eternity with you. (John 10:11; Romans 5:8) All you have to do is give up your life to spend eternity with Him. (Luke 9:23-24; Galatians 2:19-20)
But know this: you only get one chance to take Him up on His offer. If you reject it and die in your sins, there’s no changing your mind. (Hebrews 9:27-28; John 8:24) You accept Him here and now or spend eternity in a gruesome and grueling Hell. (2 Corinthians 6:2; Matthew 25:46)
God makes this so simple. He doesn’t have a laundry list of demands. He has just one: love Him with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. That’s it. That’s the price of eternal life. Will you pay it? If you turn down the deal, you can live this life however you want. You can fill your days and nights with pleasure and excess. Sooner or later, that will get old. Worse still, you will get old. We’re only a mist, here for a moment and then blown away. (James 4:14; Psalm 103:15-16) No matter how amazing your life is on Earth, it is going to end. You are going to die. (Hebrews 9:27; Ecclesiastes 3:1-2) Then what?
The choice is obvious, and the answer is so simple. Choose Christ. Choose eternal life with the One who loves you so much that He gave His holy life in exchange for your filthy heart. (John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:21) What a Savior! What grace He has given to us! (Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-9)
The bad news is we all have sinned and fallen short of God’s standard. (Romans 3:23) The good news is Jesus paid our penalty by shedding His blood for our sins. (1 Peter 2:24; Colossians 1:13-14) Now the choice is ours. Accept His gracious gift and live every waking moment for Him, or reject Him to live a selfish and self-indulgent life. One road is narrow but leads to life; the other is wide but ends with the destruction of your very soul. (Matthew 7:13-14) Choose Jesus and get life. (John 14:6; John 17:3) It’s so simple; how can you refuse?