devotional post # 2026

Luke 18:18-23

Luk 18:18 Now a certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Luk 18:19 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
Luk 18:20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honour your father and mother.'”
Luk 18:21 The man responded, “Yes, I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws since I was young.”
Luk 18:22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “OK, There is one thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in the sky. Then come, follow me.”
Luk 18:23 But when the man heard this he became deeply grieved, because he was extremely wealthy.

the sin of self-confidence

“One thing you still lack.” Few sentences in Scripture land with such weight. Anyone who sincerely wants to follow Christ can name not just one thing lacking, but dozens—areas where God’s goodness is not yet fully formed in us, places where our character still falls short, habits we wish we could uproot. I feel that deeply. But the rich ruler didn’t. He heard Jesus’ words not as an invitation to grace but as a challenge to complete one more task. His confidence rested squarely in himself—his morality, his record, his checklist. He believed he had done enough.

That is why Jesus’ statement is so haunting. It exposes the foundation beneath a person’s spiritual life. The ruler’s foundation was self‑assurance. He thought he could secure eternal life by adding a few more righteous deeds to his résumé. But Jesus wasn’t pointing out a missing item on a list. He was revealing that the man’s entire approach to God was flawed. He trusted himself, not the mercy of God.

Contrast him with the tax collector earlier in the chapter. That man had no illusions about his spiritual condition. He didn’t stand tall. He didn’t rehearse his virtues. He didn’t compare himself to others. He simply bowed low, beat his chest, and cried out for mercy. And Jesus said that man—broken, honest, repentant—went home justified.

The danger for us is subtle. The more we try to grow in our relationship with God—through prayer, Scripture, service, and generosity—the more tempted we become to admire our own progress. We begin to think our spiritual habits tip the scales in our favor. We start to believe that our faithfulness earns God’s approval. But that is the very mindset Jesus warns against. If our relationship with God becomes a matter of ticking off a few extra boxes, we still don’t understand grace.

The truth is simple and humbling: we lack far more than one thing. And yet Christ supplies everything we need. Our hope is not in our performance but in his mercy. Our confidence is not in our progress but in his grace. The moment we stop trusting ourselves is the moment we become able to receive what only he can give.

LORD, forgive us for the way we try to handle life. Forgive us for putting confidence in ourselves.