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. Mark 10:21, 22.

A man of God was staying in a certain place for a Gospel Campaign. He was staying with a very nice Christian family. When he was going away from that place he prayed, “Lord, give me a message for my host and hostess. They have been so good to me, so please give me a very nice message.” God gave him the message and it was, “One thing thou lackest”. The man of God said, “Lord, they have been so good to me. How can I give them such a message?” the more he prayed the more the same message was given to him again and again: “One thing thou lackest” (Luke 18:22).

He did not have the courage to say this directly to his host and hostess. So he wrote it on a piece of paper and pinned out onto the window curtain. Then he came downstairs, and thanked his host and hostess, and went away; after he had left the lady of the house went up the window curtain. She read the words, “One thing thou lackest” and called her husband. “These are the final words of the man of God to us,” she exclaimed. So they both knelt down by the window and prayed, “O God; show us the meaning of these words left for us by the man of God”. When they prayed like this God showed them the meaning, how till that day they were not born again but were depending on their own good works for their righteousness. They had not yet received by experience the Lord Jesus as their Savior.

___By Vivek Anand