04 Sacrificing Everything

“Yes,” said Jesus, “and you won’t regret it. No one who has sacrificed home, spouse, brothers and sisters, parents, children—whatever—will lose out. It will all come back multiplied many times over in your lifetime. And then the bonus of eternal life!” Luke 18:29-30

Completely following Jesus demands a lot from us. In order to fully experience eternal life, we have to let go of everything and trust Him. Too often we resist. We cling and grasp to worldly things; including the people we love. As the divorce process becomes more real, many emotions consume us: worry, shame, embarrassment, fear, just to name a few. While these emotions are an appropriate response to the loss we’re facing–the loss of a loved and dear relationship, the loss of home, the break up of our family, a division of possessions and savings–Jesus tells us that we must let it go and trust Him; that it is our clinging that keeps us from living the rich and abundant life He offers. When we focus on becoming like Him, despite the trial we are facing, we will grow, we will become a person of good reputation who others respect and want to be around. And who knows, in the letting it’s possible for us to win our spouse back. Or better yet, like Job, we’ll come out the other side with a much richer life than what we had before. This is the promise Jesus offers. Will you believe it?

Jesus, we struggle with letting go and trusting You. Take our hand and comfort us. Soothe our broken hearts. Help us release our grip to the things that keep us in bondage so that instead of serving worldly things, we can serve the world with Your sacrificial love. Amen