It’s easy to break into a condescending smile looking at the little girl refusing to give Jesus the small teddy bear in her hands when he is ready to give her the big new teddy behind his back. But how often don’t we act in the same way? God asks us to make a sacrifice of something we very much like, but we hold back on God. “Why Lord? There’s nothing wrong with what I’m doing, and I really do enjoy it,” we reason.
The Lord replies, “You don’t understand right now, but I have something much bigger and better I want to give you. First though, you need to give me what you are clinging to.”
Frequently, God needs to empty us of habits, attitudes and material possessions which keep us from experiencing the kind of life he saved us for. Tragically, we miss out on so many blessings because we’re unwilling to give up what we need to relinquish. It’s like the little boy playing in a mud puddle who refuses an offer to go to the beach saying, “Why would I want to go to the beach when I have everything right here?”
Many years ago, a group of people couldn’t figure out why their lives were so frustrating. A man by the name of Malachi gave these people a very straight forward explanation, “You are holding back on God. Give him what he deserves and watch how things will change.”
It is no different today. Jesus gave his all to rescue us for all of eternity. In response to that kind of overwhelming committed love, he invites us to give our all to him so that he can remake us into the people he intends us to be. The question is, “Will we trust him and take that step of faith, or will we hold back on him, maintaining our commonsense status quo?”
Sunday Worship Time: 10:00 am
