As Elton Trueblood has observed, all the major symbols that Jesus used had a severe, even offensive quality:
“Count the cost,” Jesus said, giving fair warning to any who dared follow him.
–Philip Yancey
Jesus makes it clear – to follow Him will cost you dearly.
It requires a change in how you think, how you speak, and how you act.
But it is worth it.
Give all of you over to all of Him!
You won’t be disappointed.
Instead you will discover abundant life.
Do not place much confidence in weak and mortal man, helpful and friendly though he be; and do not grieve too much if he sometimes opposes and contradicts you. Those who are with us today may be against us tomorrow, and vice versa, for men change with the wind. Place all your trust in God; let Him be your fear and your love. He will answer for you; He will do what is best for you.
–Thomas à Kempis
Amen. So Be It Truth!
My God, without merit on my part, of His pure and free mercy, has given to me, an unworthy, condemned, and contemptible creature, all the riches of justification and salvation in Christ, so that I no longer am in want of anything, except of faith to believe that this is so. For such a Father then, who has overwhelmed me with these inestimable riches of His, why should I not freely, cheerfully, and with my whole heart and from voluntary zeal, do all that I know will be pleasing to Him, and acceptable in His sight? I will therefore give myself, as a sort of Christ, to my neighbour, as Christ has given Himself to me; and will do nothing in this life, except what I see will be needful, advantageous, and wholesome for my neighbour, since by faith I abound in all good things in Christ.
–Martin Luther
This quote from Martin Luther is straight from God’s Word which tells us…
Love your neighbor as yourself.
Consider others as more important than yourself.
Do nothing with your freedom that would cause someone else to stumble in their walk with God.
Therefore, because of how Jesus served us and has blessed us so much, we are to embrace this final sentence of Luther’s quote so very closely:
I will give myself to my neighbors (my fellow man) as Christ has given Himself for me – willing to be an absolute servant to them – and I will do nothing in this life except what is helpful to others.
Wow, that is a tall order. But it is my calling.
A prayer for us to repeat numerous times throughout today:
Father, I want to know You.
But my cowardly heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from You the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please dig out from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that You may enter and dwell there without a rival. Then shall You make the place of Your feet glorious [as I come to bow before You as Lord]. Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for You will be the light of it, and there shall be no night there.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
–A. W. Tozer
Amen and Amen.
Use temporal things but desire eternal things. You cannot be satisfied with any temporal goods because you were not created to enjoy them.
Even if you possessed all created things you could not be happy and blessed; for in God, who created all these things, your whole blessedness and happiness consists.
–Thomas à Kempis
Updating the wording a bit, I think I’d say it this way:
Use material possessions, but desire the things of God. Because you cannot find true satisfaction in material possessions, because you were not designed to find contentment in these things.
God did create us to enjoy the excellent things he created for us, but they cannot bring full satisfaction. Only the Creator can do so. And we know that many people who achieve exorbitant wealth are able to possess all the things they ever wanted and yet still find themselves miserable and looking for satisfaction in something else… some of them even committing suicide when they realize that the things they most wanted in life left them empty.
Each of us has a God-shaped hole in our hearts and only He is able to fill it up perfectly to bring us full contentment. Make sure that you are not trying to be satisfied with the things of this world, instead seek to be satisfied by the Creator of this world – who also created you and knows how to meet your deepest longings!