Life of Christ 39
Luke 5:11 And when they had brought their ships to
land, they forsook all, and followed him.
Before I leave this
story of the calling of Peter, James, and John, I must draw from it one more
lesson. This is a crucial lesson, indeed, not for the casual Christian, but
then again, the casual Christian almost certainly isn't reading this blog. No,
the casual Christian comes to Christ for what Christ offers him i.e. peace of
mind about his sin, a home in Heaven, and an occasional happy emotional
experience in a worship service. The simple truth is that to get all of those
all you have to forsake is an inflated sense of yourself as you come to Christ
alone for salvation. But to mature, to grow, to walk closely with Him, you must
continually forsake aspects of your life that once were dear.
Jesus will take any
sincere follower, both the distant and the close, but He will give Himself to
those that are close, not just once, but again and again. However, you cannot
become close if you hold on to what you already have. Paul said it this way,
'But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea
doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and
do count them but dung, that I may win Christ' (Philippians 3.7-8).
Some are called to
forsake family. Some are called to forsake business opportunities. Some are
called to forsake long cherished desires of the heart. Some are called to
forsake free time and spare money. Some are called to forsake the good opinion
of others. Some are called for forsake ease and comfort. Some are called to
forsake their native land. …and, in return, they get Him.
As a 15 year old boy I
knelt in the far back corner of an enormous empty auditorium. Tears streamed
down my face. I raised my hands and said, 'God, take it all; I hold nothing
back. All I ask in return is yourself.' Not sixty minutes later, I sat toward
the very front of that auditorium, and listened, spell bound, as a preacher
said, 'There probably aren't five teenagers in this room that understand this,
but when you give up everything God gives you Himself in return.' Please don't
misunderstand me. There have been plenty of times in the intervening years
where the living sacrifice of my life has crawled back of the altar and done its
own thing, but I have never regretted, for one solitary moment, giving God
everything.
What did Peter, James,
and John forsake? Two boats, some nets, one of which was broken, and the
detritus that collects in the bottom of every boat I've ever been in, swishing
slowly back and forth with the tide. What did Peter, James, and John get? Jesus
Christ, and all that came with Him.
What stands between you
and closer relationship with Him? What do you need to forsake? Money? Fun? How
you spend your time? Your choice of entertainment? Your pride? Your friends?
What?
If you give in, you will
get a whole lot more out of it than it cost you to give up. You will get Him.
If you would like to listen to the sermon connected with this blog you may find it here on our church website. Just press 'launch media player' and choose We Preach Christ 17, 'They Forsook All and Followed Him.'
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