Jesus, lover of my soul, I begin my day expressing my love for you.
“And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man *said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.” (Matthew 19:16-22)
Imagine you are invited to a dinner at a church that is held in a church’s large parish hall. You go through the buffet line and get your dinner and drink then you turn to look for a place to sit. In the hall the are a dozen or so round tables set up. You look around at the tables deciding which one to sit at. You see people you know at a couple of the tables, then you notice at one table sitting by himself is Jesus. Do you have the courage to go sit at the table with Jesus? And if you did what would you ask him? The young man in the passage above chose to “sit at his table” and engage in a conversation with Him, and He left the table grieving.
Right now, like the young man did, you can rationalize, even pat yourself on the back that you are a “good Christian.” Like the young man, you go to church on Sundays, don’t kill people or cheat on your wife, and read your Bible and pray fairly regularly. When the young man told this to Jesus, he assumed that Jesus would respond with, “Wow. I am impressed with your faith!” That is the fruit bearing life I am talking about that comes from picking up your cross and following me.” He did not. Instead, He saw through the young man’s rationalizations, and told him what he lacked. If you had the courage to sit at Jesus’ table and if you had the courage to ask Jesus, “What do I lack?” And he also saw through your rationalizations of your good Christian faith, What would He tell you? And once He gave you an answer, you could not rationalize your “Goodness” anymore. You would have to either have to completely surrender and comply to what Jesus asked of you, or walk away grieving knowing you denied Jesus.
My family, I pray today in prayer and in the Holy Spirit, you have the courage to set aside time and “sit at the table of Jesus” and ask Him “What do I lack?” In what way is my life not conforming to your image and the life you desire for me? In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers from my blog and what passages stood out to you in today’s reading with us in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community/Toney UMC
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
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