Week 10, Day 5: One Thing…
Today’s Reading: Mark 11:1-12:44
Some thoughts from yesterday’s reading…
In the movie “City Slickers”, Billy Crystal is told by Jack Palance that he had to seek out the “one thing”, which was different for every one. It was, if I recall, something to do with the meaning of life for each person, or that which was most important to him. Jesus’ interaction with the Rich Young Ruler in Mark 10 reminds me of that scene. Jesus was not telling this man to look for the meaning of life, but He did tell him to look for the one thing that was keeping him from being faithful to God (Mark 10:21). In his case, the Rich Young Ruler was letting worldly wealth stand in his way. He was not willing to give up his riches to be faithful.
There may be only one thing that keeps us from being faithful to God. It may not be money or possessions (though it very well may be). Our problem may be that we are unwilling to give up filthy communication, or lasciviousness, or some other sin. We may not be willing to make the kind of commitment that God demands of us. We may be unwilling to work in the Kingdom the way that we are supposed to. There are any number of things that can keep us from being faithful. The bottom line is that we must be willing to give up every last thing that keeps us from faithful service.
Being a Christian is not an easy task. But, often we do so well at getting sin put out of our lives right down to a certain point–the point at which we only have one or two things left. Typically these are the things that are the most ingrained in our lives, the things that are hardest to let go. If we are truly committed to Christ, then we should be willing to give up whatever is in the way of our service. If you have “one thing” that you lack, do what is necessary to fix it today!
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