Hoarding Jesus

9.21.2010

Luke 4:42 42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, ESV

There are many who would be kept as leader and deliverer; as the righter of wrongs; the corrector of mistakes – or as king. There are many who are in it just for the power and prestige of being the big cheese. But not Jesus; He wouldn’t be charmed by the world’s promises; He wasn’t in it to force anything to change; He was in it to preach the Kingdom of God.

People want someone with power to come and change their circumstances and with that they think they’ll be happy until their circumstances change again and they need someone with power to come and change them again. Life is not all about changed circumstances – it’s about changed hearts. How do the pressures and the problems we face make a difference in our relationships with others and with God? The people wanted Jesus to come in and make everything better but Jesus had bigger fish to fry… others needed to hear the truth and He wasn’t going to be hoarded by anyone.

I try sometimes to hoard Jesus. I try to quietly keep all of His blessings to myself and just let others fend for themselves. But to truly have Jesus is to give Him away. Belief in Jesus isn’t (and wasn’t ever) meant to be hoarded. The more I try to keep the Lord the smaller He becomes – the more I try to give Him away the greater He becomes to me and to others.

Father in Heaven,

As I read today I wondered what You would direct me to and this I think is it – may I through my words and actions today, give Jesus away. He is my Lord but He seeks others who need a Lord in their lives. Help me to partner in the mission and not rest in reclusion trying to keep all of who You are to myself. I couldn’t possibly do it anyway but sometimes I sure try… Amen.