"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age...and in the age to come, eternal life."
-Mark 10:29-31
This past Sunday, I was given the opportunity to preach in our church's morning services.
I decided to focus on the idea of following Jesus. What that looks like. What that means.
I started off by looking at Jesus calling the first disciples. Then I talked about him telling them to deny themselves, take up their crosses and follow Him.
And then I got to the passage in Mark 10 where he tells them to leave it all behind.
And you see, he wasn't talking about leaving behind sinful things. He was talking about leaving behind our mothers. Our sisters. Our children. Our homes.
As I was preparing the sermon, I was reminded in some way of Anakin Skywalker in the most recent Star Wars movie. In the film, he has a vision of the future and learns his wife is going to die. He doesn't know how to stop it. He can't. But trying to consumes him. I imagine myself in the same situation and I know how hard it must have been. Like him, we may just be unable to let go. Like him, being unable to do so may destroy us. Might shipwreck our souls.
At one point, he consults a mentor of his about the situation. He asks what he should do. His reponse?
"Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose."
I'm not trying to make Jesus out to be some kind of Jedi...but what he says to his disciples sounds a lot like this. What he says to you and me sounds a lot like this.
Trying to life a live following God and--for that matter--trying to live a life at all without being able to let go is just a losing proposition. Fears, hopes, people, friends, family, loved ones, doubts...some of these are good and blessed things but in their time each may have to be left behind. And we don't have to watch Episode III to know what can happen if we don't.
So what then, is it? What is it you see after closing your eyes that you know you cannot ever let go of? That you fear to lose more than anything else?
Maybe that's just the thing we need to be ready to let go.
3 comments:
Preach, preacher. Even when it's tough - for you and your listeners. Maybe especially then.
Ya, believe me. It's tough for all of us. If I ever start to tell people it's easy for me? That's when I'm in danger of just being a liar.
ever wonder what Judas would have gotten if he let go of thirty peices of silver?
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