17As he went out into the street, a man came running up, greeted him with great reverence, and asked, "Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?"
18-19Jesus said, "Why are you calling me good? No one is good, only God. You know the commandments: Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, don't cheat, honor your father and mother."
20He said, "Teacher, I have—from my youth—kept them all!"
21Jesus looked him hard in the eye—and loved him! He said, "There's one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me."
22The man's face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go.
You don't hear this message too often, but how many times does God give us the opportunity to do something - jump feet first and we stop to weigh the consequences. How tight we try to hold on to things, when God asks. It's not to be deprive us, but He knows that He has something better. And talking to Christians, We have so many reasons for not getting involved in church - doesn't fit in with our "schedule".
"I can't wake up at 8 am to sing at church - too hard on the kids."
"I can't go to church, because my kids have hockey practice at 6am "
"I can't get involved in church because I don't know anyone"
There are so many variables and excuses, but it got me thinking Jesus could have had another disciple. We only hear about the ones that dropped everything and followed Him and didn't look back. This is the last that we hear about this guy. He was so close. He put so much focus and attention into keeping the commandments, but he couldn't let go of the "things" in his life. Are you worried that if you take the plunge that you'll be losing out? You're so close, you've been a good person , but making Jesus #1 is just too much.
I say we need to find out what God's priorities are and structure our life around them - even if it kills us. Life is not just about us. Christians, stop being selfish. Coming to church and getting involved is not just about you - it's for others. To build relationships, and to be "Christ" to others. Be willing to ditch your "schedule" and make a new one. Be flexible enough that when a crisis hits that you can be there- they rarely (if ever) come with an announcement. I'm being impressed to get rid of as much earthly "stuff" as possible and see how much I can live without. So here's what I'm in the process of getting rid of
- Books (I have so many books! It will take me FOREVER to read them all because I'm such a slow reader),
- magazines,
- Movie Channel,
- expensive makeup,
- expensive coffee,
- eating out excessively
- toys that the kids no longer play with, but we save for the day (that never comes) when we have small children come to visit.
- start shopping with coupons and look for sales when grocery shopping - be wise with our money.
- the dream of one day owning a big house - (this is a big one for me, as we live in a townhouse. I'm just starting finally give that dream up to God. Whatever happens, it's really not that important. Though a big bathroom would be nice one day with three teenage girls.)
"Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being." Matthew 6:19-21
P.S. I'm so thankful for the friends who ditched their schedules to help me out the last couple weeks. You are amazing. thank you.
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