TRAIN US LORD TO OBSERVE YOUR LAW AND TO KEEP IT WITH OUR HEARTS(Judges 2:11-19/Psalm 106:34-37,39-40,43-44/Matthew 19:16-22)

TRAIN US LORD TO OBSERVE YOUR LAW AND TO KEEP IT WITH OUR HEARTS

(Monday, August 19, 2019)

Jesus invites us daily to know Him more. When we spend time with Him reading the word, in quiet reflection, or in daily prayer, we are deepening our relationship with the Creator. We are allowing Him into our lives and letting him fill the God-shaped hole in our hearts that only he can seal.

And when we know Him, giving up something we value so much for the sake of the Kingdom of God won’t feel like a burden. We will find a willing heart, eager to follow God all the days of our lives. We are told that the young man that came to Jesus in the gospel of today had many possessions and wanted to know what good he must do to gain eternal life. Jesus sensed the trouble the young man was experiencing in his heart and how possessions were keeping him from giving himself whole-heartedly to God. “Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” What do our possessions provide for us?

Do they satisfy our desire for happiness and security? Do possessions prevent us from giving ourselves whole-heartedly to God? Do we serve our possessions [like the children of Israel serving the Baals] instead of serving the Lord? Possessions can’t give us the kind of peace and happiness that we find in God. Sometimes our hope for happiness gets misplaced in materialism. Jesus challenges our attachment to earthly possessions. Jesus challenges us to contemplate what our greatest treasure is truly. The thing we most set our heart on is our highest treasure.

The Lord is accessible to all, the rich and the poor. In another passage, Jesus even asks the disciples to leave their father and mother to follow Him. We must be at a place where we can securely and genuinely say that we would sacrifice all else for Him. That’s not easy to do if we don’t know Him. Possessions cannot provide the lasting peace and happiness that the Lord can provide. No other treasure can compare with the Lord.

Let Us Pray: Lord Jesus, give me grace to follow you in faithfulness and to do your will always. May I detach myself from the things of thus life so as to attach myself to the things of heaven. Amen.