07/31/2018
Is there something in your life that keeps getting in the way of your faith in God? Is there something that distracts you during your day when you are trying to pray without ceasing, or which keeps you from studying God’s Word? Does your love for money stop you from donating to a food pantry, or perhaps occupies all of your time and prohibits you from burying the dead, or visiting the sick? Jesus asks us to identify these distractions that are coming before God, and remove them, just as he did with the wealthy ruler.
“When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."
For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."”
Luke 18:22, 25-27 ESV
We all have something in our lives that must be displaced before God can occupy the focal point within us... our throne. Its one thing to be wealthy, but quite something else to worship that wealth, and to put it before all else in your life. If not wealth, then what is it in your life that occupies the throne within you? If you don’t find God there, then it is time to do some housecleaning... some reorganization.
I was a modern day Peter. I fished at least three days out of every week, and when I wasn’t on a lake in my boat I was working on it, preparing my tackle, watching television shows about fishing, or reading books and magazines about the subject. Outside of my job, fishing took all of my time. I was obsessed with it, and my obsession drove me to place it before Church on Sundays, and it even stole the rest from my Sabbath. Oh, I would have told you that i felt close to God when I was on the water, or that it was very relaxing, but if that were true then why was it that my faith diminished, and that I would have to drag myself out of bed on Monday mornings to go to work? Like Peter, Jesus had to call me off the water.
What is the treasure you value above all else? What do you have on the throne of your life that makes it impossible for God to occupy it? Maybe it is the quest for money, or the love of fishing, but there are so many other things that vie for that spot. Maybe it is the pursuit of beauty, an obsession with shopping, that motorcycle that you ride and fawn over... or maybe even a person... the list is long and before you can truly follow Jesus Christ, you will have to move something off your throne.
I have talked with couples who married after having lived as single people for periods of time. They all talk about one thing which was very hard for them once the ceremony was over, and they moved into a house or apartment together... what couch would they keep, whose dishes would they use, would they keep his television or hers in the living room? Where does that stuffed deer head go, or the big picture of his favorite sports team hang? So one of the hardest things they immediately faced was determining how they would order their house; they had to make what had been two separate households come together as one. In every case there was something that each of them owned that they could not part with... that thing they placed on the throne that would cause discord if threatened.
This is much like our establishment of faith, and the cohabitation of our inner selves with God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. You are going to run up against that thing, or things, that have to be displaced in order to place God, and your faith, at the center of your life... to seat God on the throne of who you are. For most people this is the hardest part of abiding in Christ, and His abiding in them. You see, God doesn’t want to occupy the spare bedroom; He wants the master bedroom. Jesus doesn’t want to store that rough looking cross in the basement, a storage closet, or out in the garage... He wants it as the focal piece of the living room. The Holy Spirit doesn’t want his favorite books to be boxed up and stashed away... He wants them displayed prominently on the bookshelf where they can be readily accessed. So are you willing to take your idol off of the throne and reorganize your spiritual and worldly house so that they can move in? If not then you will face the same sad reality as the wealthy ruler; that you love what you already have more than God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit...
“But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”
Luke 18:23-24 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for sitting on the throne of who I am, and for showing me that what I once felt were the most important things in my life were just false idols. I thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who was born, died, resurrected, and ascended into heaven to sit at your right hand, because He opened my eyes to the fact that I had not loved you with all my heart, soul, and mind, and He defeated sin in me. In truth Holy Father, I had placed images of myself on the throne where you were meant to sit. Although I called them by many other names, they were all reflections of me, and for this I humbly seek your forgiveness. In this realization I readily abandon my throne, and hand you my crown. Help me Merciful Father to get my house in order, and to follow you all the days of my life. Help me to pick up my cross and follow your Son Jesus, and to hear the voice of your Holy Spirit as He enlightens me as to the meaning of your Word. Take the scepter from my hand Great King, and rule me forevermore. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you the King above all gods, and the Lord of my life. Praised be your name always.
“Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?”
1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV
Rich Forbes