What Would You Give Up to Gain Grace?

Much of North American Christianity is promoted in ways similar to marketing. We present the "product" (a relationship with Jesus) in terms of what people will gain by "buying." Salvation of your soul, peace within, a purpose in life, joy that passes all understanding, and a host of other "gains" provide incentive. Unfortunately, we're reluctant to stress the "give it up" dimension of following Jesus.

A wealthy young man wanted to know what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. (See Luke 18:18-30 in the Bible.) Jesus asked whether or not the well-to-do man lived by the commandments. He told Jesus that he did, and had always done so. Jesus said, "There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come and follow me." (Luke 18:22 - New Revised Standard Version.) The guy couldn't do it. The point wasn't that he was rich. Rather, his love for his wealth was greater than his love for God. As long as that was the case, no amount of commandment-obeying would get him into the Kingdom. His pathway to the grace of God was blocked by his own addiction to his material success. The most gracious, loving thing Jesus could do was to invite him to purge himself of it, and then follow Him.

We all have things in our lives that we treasure and that would be hard to give up: material items, positions and status, relationships, mechanisms providing security, opinions and stances, habits and addictions, etc. Consider the following questions:

Beyond your immediate family relationships, what are the very most important things in your life - really? (Be honest. Don't answer just the way you think you ought to answer.)

Looking at what you have noted in the question above, do those things help or hinder your relationship with God? How so?

Imagine giving up those things. How hard would that be? What would make such relinquishment worthwhile?

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.