Did anyone ever tell you how to catch a monkey? In some jungle tribes, the method used to catch a monkey was to put some bait in a container that had a hole in the top just big enough for a monkey to slip his hand inside. The catch was that as soon as the monkey grabbed a fistful of food, his hand couldn’t come back out of the hole. He could run away and avoid capture simply by letting go of the bait, but nearly every time, the monkey was unwilling to do it.
There’s a story in the Bible about a man who had a similar problem. This young man was rich. He came to Jesus and asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus’ answer was, “Let go of the riches in your hand!” Was Jesus opposed to wealth? No—hardly! But if wealth and the pursuit of it are more important to you than eternal life, he’s opposed to it. In fact, it’s not just money we hang on to—it can also be relationships, position or status amongst friends or in a community. Pride in who you are or what your abilities are can also take priority over a relationship with God. The Bible says if we seek to save our life we will lose it, but if we give up our life for Him, we will gain it back. What do you have to lose? Jesus challenges us to let go of whatever has become more important than God in our lives. Jesus has promised to gives us all we need, but first we must let go of what we have. He is either Lord of all—all that we possess and aspire to become, or he is not lord at all. May God help us to release those things in our hands and lead us to life today! |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
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