IT’S A VERY NARROW ROAD…A VERY, VERY NARROW ROAD — Part 10c

The View From Above: Thoughts To Help With Everyday Life

October 16, 2026

Pastor Paul Stephens

IT’S A VERY NARROW ROAD…A VERY, VERY NARROW ROAD — Part 10c

Where would his decision have taken him?

What really was he sacrificing?

What would be the ultimate price of not following Jesus, and was it worth it?

Where is the rich young ruler headed now that he turned away from Jesus and decided following Him was going to be too costly?

We hear nothing more about him.

Perhaps, just perhaps, he could have replaced Judas as the 12th disciple after Judas’ betrayal of Jesus.

He told this young man to follow Him in the same way He told the other twelve disciples.

Whatever the case may be, it wasn’t long afterward (70 AD) that Rome sent soldiers to Jerusalem and systematically destroyed it.

They destroyed the temple, tore down its walls, and much of the population was killed, displaced, or enslaved.

That rich, young ruler who wouldn’t let go of his riches would have lost everything.

His luxurious lifestyle that he refused to leave behind is now gone forever, and so was Jesus’ invitation to follow Him.

What became of him?

Did he think about Jesus then?

Perhaps it all became a catalyst to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior…we just don’t know.

It remains a mystery.

I have often thought about this young man and what eternity would be like for him had he not ever come to himself and gotten saved.

The Creator of the universe, Jesus Himself, in the flesh, is having a face-to-face with him, and he turned away.

Imagine the regret he would have felt for eternity.

How many get that opportunity?

He did, and as they say, he blew it.

At least in that moment, and we don’t know what happened afterward.

What can we take away from this?

Each and every one of us has been met by the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…not as the rich young ruler was…but met by Jesus nevertheless.

It happened to me, on May 22, 1975, in Pastor Harold Warner’s living room.

As he was telling me about Jesus and my need to repent of my sins and receive Him as my Lord and Savior, Jesus Himself dealt with me…moved my heart to repent and give my life and my future to Him.

So too have you been met by Jesus.

Do you remember?

That first occasion of hearing the Gospel and the conviction you felt.

Maybe not quite as dramatic as the meeting the rich young ruler had…but dramatic and awesome as well.

I remember, it’s etched in my mind, heart, and soul forever, and today I’m grateful that unlike the young man, I decided to follow Jesus.

Granted, I didn’t have riches to leave behind…just my sin, brokenness, and an empty life with no purpose.

But, whatever the case, Jesus steps out of heaven to meet us because He loves each and every one of us to the point of creating a moment of encounter and then going to the cross and rising from the dead that we might be saved.

Love is what drove Jesus to say what He said to the young man.

In the account in Mark, it says:

Mark 10:21

“Then Jesus, looking at him, LOVED HIM, and said to him, ‘One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.’”

Jesus loved this young man, as He loves each and every one of us.

That is what drove Him to say what He said.

Jesus knows what’s coming and knows what is best…He would have seen loss and devastation in his future, not to mention eternal separation from God for eternity.

Jesus “loved him.”

Those words resonate with me, and they should also resonate with you because we are all that young man that Jesus met on what became for him a fateful day of rejecting Jesus.

Don’t let that be us ever.

There is nothing so valuable it’s worth not following Jesus for.

As we move along in the will of God, we shed more and more of the burdens of this life.

While we can be blessed and prosperous, there is nothing worth holding on to in exchange for God’s perfect will for our lives.

Nothing!

Perhaps there are things present in your life that are a hindrance to your walk with God…now would be a good time to shed them.

Do what the rich young ruler was unwilling to do.

It’s sad, beyond sad…it’s tragic beyond tragic:

Mark 10:22 (AMP)

“But the man was saddened at Jesus’ words, and he left grieving, because he owned much property and had many possessions [which he treasured more than his relationship with God].”