Bible in a Year - Women’s Thematic Reading Plan | Day 218

Day 218 of the Women’s Bible Plan: Read Mark 10:17-22 and reflect on the young ruler who came to Jesus asking about eternal life, yet went away sorrowful because he could not release what held his heart. Through this passage, this devotional helps parents, families, and spiritual mentors guide young people to face idols, eternal life, and the call to follow Christ.

🌸  Dear Sister, welcome to Day 218 of our reading journey. 

Many parents long for their children to have good character, a good future, and wise choices. We want them to stay on the right path and not be led astray. But as children grow older, we begin to realize that what truly shapes a young person’s life is not only grades, school, career, or friendships. It is what their heart treasures most.

In Mark Chapter 10, a man comes running to Jesus, kneels before Him, and asks, “Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” Outwardly, he seems sincere, respectful, earnest, and spiritually interested. He is not trying to trap Jesus; he truly wants to understand the question of eternal life. Yet when Jesus points to the treasure his heart cannot release, the young man goes away grieved, for he has great possessions.

This story is especially meaningful for the theme of parenting and family. Every young person must eventually face the deeper questions: What do I truly depend on? What am I most afraid to lose? What am I willing to surrender in order to follow Jesus? As parents, elders, teachers, and spiritual companions, we also need to learn that we should not only care whether our children succeed outwardly, but whether they truly know the Lord of eternal life.

A Minute of Grace

Mark 10:17-22 records a man running to Jesus, kneeling before Him, and asking, “Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” This man is often known as the rich young ruler. He appears to be deeply serious and spiritually concerned. He is not lazy, careless, or without moral standards. On the contrary, he has kept many commandments from his youth, and his outward life seems very respectable.

Jesus beholding him loved him. This detail is precious. When Jesus exposed the man’s need, He did not do so with cold criticism, but with love. Jesus saw not only his outward behavior, but also what truly held his heart. He said to him, “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.”

These words touched the deepest place in the young man’s life. He could keep many outward commandments, yet he could not release the thing that gave him the greatest security and control. He asked about eternal life, but he was not willing to let Jesus become the true Lord of his life. He desired treasure in heaven, yet he still held tightly to his possessions on earth.

This passage gives a deep reminder for parenting and family life. Many young people are not completely uninterested in spiritual things. They may be willing to attend church, join gatherings, learn Scripture, and pursue a good moral life. Yet in their hearts, there may still be things that matter more than Jesus: grades, success, money, appearance, social approval, social media, romance, freedom, control, or the desire for a secure future.

As parents and spiritual companions, we cannot be satisfied merely because a child “looks fine” on the outside. We need to gently and honestly walk with young people as they face the idols of the heart. We also need to help them understand that eternal life is not earned by performance or accumulated through religious behavior. Eternal life is found in knowing Christ, following Him, and letting Him become Lord.

Today’s theme, “The Young Ruler and the Question of Eternal Life,” invites us to reflect: How can we help young people face idols and eternal life? Are we also willing to be searched by the Lord first, so that we may see the things we ourselves are unwilling to release? Children do not only listen to what we say. They also watch what we truly treasure.

Whispers for the Heart

1 The young ruler asked Jesus, “What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” Young people today ask questions about meaning in many different ways: Why am I living? What is worth pursuing? What can give me real security? In our homes, do we make room for children to ask these deeper questions, instead of only talking about grades, rules, and the future?

2 Jesus looked at the young ruler and loved him, then pointed out what he could not release. When we walk with children or young people, can we learn from Jesus’ way: first seeing them with love, then helping them face the real issues in their hearts? Are our reminders shaped by control and anxiety, or by love and truth?

3 The young ruler went away grieved because he had great possessions. What “possessions” most easily hold young people today? Grades, money, phones, social media, romance, human approval, or the dream of a successful life? As parents or mentors, do we also need to release certain idols first so that we can truly lead the next generation to follow the Lord?

As you read Mark 10:17-22 today, do not see the young ruler only as a failed example. Let his story become a mirror, showing the struggles of young hearts and also revealing what we truly value in our homes.

Take a quiet breath before you begin. Bring your children, your family, the next generation, and your own understanding of success, security, and eternal life before the Lord, and let His Word meet you there.

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🪕 Response Hymn: 

Mark 10:17-22 (KJV)

17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.

21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

🪕 Response Hymn: 

💡 Closing Thought ·  Helping Children See the True Treasure

After reading Mark 10:17-22, we see the young ruler coming to Jesus with a sincere question, yet leaving sorrowful because his heart still clung tightly to earthly possessions. He was not without spiritual interest or moral effort. His deeper problem was that he had not allowed Jesus to become the greatest treasure and true Lord of his life.

As we close this page and return to our homes and daily routines, perhaps we are walking with children as they grow. Perhaps we are influencing young people around us. Perhaps we ourselves still have “treasures” we find hard to release. Remember this: true parenting is not only helping children build a good future, but helping them see eternal value. It is not only teaching them to avoid failure, but walking with them to Jesus so they may learn to follow Him.

May today’s Scripture remind us not to hand the next generation only the success defined by the world, but also to place the question of eternal life before their hearts. May we accompany them with love, guide them with truth, and witness through our own lives that treasure in heaven is more real than possessions on earth, and following Jesus is more precious than gaining the world.

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