shani4jc

“When Jesus heard this, He said, ‘You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” Luke 18:22

Many of us are familiar with the story about the rich, young ruler in Luke 18. When he tells Jesus he has faithfully kept the law from his youth, Jesus tells him he is still lacking one thing. He proceeds to tell him that he needs to sell everything he has and give it to the poor. Then come and follow Him. Now Jesus knew very well that this young man was very wealthy, and He knew that his riches were what truly held his heart. That’s why He knew it was absolutely necessary for him to get rid of them. Otherwise, they would cause a problem in his relationship with Jesus. Those precious possessions would fight for the place in the young man’s heart that should have belonged to the Lord alone. Now, it’s easy to judge the young ruler, but the truth is, we all have things in our lives that are fighting for the place in our heart that should belong to Him and Him alone. In fact, we may have a very long list of things competing for His spot. It doesn’t really matter if it’s one thing or a hundred things vying for the space that should be reserved for Him. What does matter is what we do about it! We cannot afford to let our guards down for one single moment. We have to guard our relationship with the Lord above all things, or something will find a way to push Him out of the way. What is in the way of your relationship with Christ? What has wiggled its way in to the place that belongs to Him? What is competing for top priority in your life? Whatever it is, it’s time to put it back in its proper place!