07/31/2026
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 when He advised the wealthy young 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. It’s 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 our lives that occupies the throne within us? If we don’t find God there, then it is time for us to do some housecleaning... some reorganization.
When I was a young man 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 most 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 and peace 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 that each of us values above all else? What have we placed on the throne of our lives that has made 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 we ride and fawn over... or maybe even a person... the list is long and before we can truly follow Jesus Christ, we will have to move something off your throne so that God can claim it.
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... whose 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 where does 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 between them 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. We are going to run up against that thing, or things, that has to be displaced in order to place God, and thus our faith, at the center of our lives... to seat God on the throne of who we are. For most of us this is the hardest part of abiding in Christ, and allowing Him to abide in us. 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 in 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 we willing to take our idol off of the throne and reorganize our spiritual and worldly house so that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit can move in? If not then we will face the same sad reality as the wealthy young ruler; that we love what we already have more than we love 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
Are we willing to reorder our house? Are we ready to place God on the throne of our life and relegate all else to lesser places… or dispose of them altogether?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for sitting on the throne of my life and ruling over who I am. Thank you for showing me that those things 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 your throne, and hand you the crown that is rightly yours. Help me Merciful Father to set 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 true meaning of your Word. Take the scepter from my hand O Great King, and rule me forevermore. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you the King above all gods, and the Lord of my life. I will Praise your name always.
“For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.”
Psalm 95:3 ESV
“Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?”
1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Amen!
Rich Forbes