Monday Morning Devo - Giving It Up for Him

Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”
And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”
So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. Luke 18:18-23, NKJV.

This is Lent, the season of sacrifice. This is the story of the rich young ruler who couldn't loose his grip on his money; he probably realized he'd also be giving up his position and comforts to follow Jesus, sleep on the ground, and be dependent on the kindness of others for food and drink. What a demotion! No wonder he was sad. If you read the next few verses, you will see that Jesus was also very sad. He never wants anyone to lose out on the Kingdom, but some choose to put something else as more important.

It's never easy to sacrifice something we love to have or do. Jesus never told us choosing His Way would be easy.

Rewarding--but never, ever easy.

Lord, please strengthen me. I want to follow Your path, but I know it's going to cost me. Help me. I can't do it on my own. In the everlasting name of our beautiful Savior, amen.