The Life He offers... A Life of Letting Go

We live in a society where the constant goal is to make life easier. We have timesaving devices in our kitchens, our offices, and even our cars. So how strange it is to hear Jesus warning that following him involves a lot of striving. If he isn’t going to make our lives easier, why bother? Because he alone can lead us to salvation. Yet getting to that salvation is like struggling to squeeze through a narrow, little door. 

In fact, the door is so narrow that we can’t hold onto anything and still make it through. Not our trophies and achievements. Not our relationships. Not even our dreams. We have to drop them all if we’re going to fit through the door called salvation. Yet that is just one of the ways Jesus leads us to hope. None of these things we are holding will save us. Only Jesus, and we have to come to him empty-handed.

M. Craig Barnes, An Extravagant Mercy, (p. 190)

What are you holding onto that won’t allow you to squeeze through the door? Why is it so tough for you to let it go? What’s it going to take for that to happen? 

Right now we are living at a time when things, especially economic things, are pretty crazy. What are you clinging to for your security and hope? If it is anything other than Jesus, is it truly something you can count on?

¹As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. ²He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ³"I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. ⁴All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

Luke 21:1-4 (NIV)

Some people would say that this woman was goofy, putting all she had into the temple treasury. What would you say? Is money, or the love of money, keeping you from squeezing through that narrow door? What are you going to do about it? 

Is the inability to forgive someone keeping you from squeezing through the door? Have you taken it to Jesus in prayer? If not, why not do that? Have you talked to someone about it? A professional? Perhaps you should consider it.