Letting go

Have you ever thought about the value that you put on the things of this world... like your possessions and your stuff? Quite honestly, I never had before until about a month ago.

Do you know what 1 John 2:15 says? It says: "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." I never got that verse until very recently when God started asking me to give up my things one by one (or many all at one time) and give them to other people. Some things I let go of relatively easily and some things I just want to hang onto for some reason.

It is somehow human nature to get a sense of comfort, home, and familiarity from the things we have around us... the things we "own"... furniture, plants, dishes, computers, etc. But yet, none of that stuff is going to last forever. What value does it really have? Sure, it might have a monetary value in the sense that we paid something for it, but what value does it have in the light of eternity if we hang onto it for ourselves?

In Mark 1:16-20, the account is told of how Jesus called four of his disciples...

"As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will make you fishers of men.' At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him."

At once they left! They left their nets (i.e. their jobs), their family, and probably much more that isn't specified to follow Jesus. Is Jesus asking anything less of any of us? No, He isn't. Of course, He isn't asking all of us to leave our jobs and families and possessions to follow Him, but there is something that He is asking all of us to leave behind to follow Him. He is asking us to put a greater value on Him and the call that He has on our lives.