May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
One of my favourite hymns is: I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Come unto me and rest“. Now this hymn was an immense help as I meditated on the words through my discernment process of joining this beautiful community.
This morning, just like the young man who heard Jesus’ voice saying, “Come and follow me”, that same Jesus and that same voice is saying to each and every one of us, “Come and follow me”.
From the Synoptic Gospels, we can find that this was a young man, who was rich and, as the Gospel according to Luke says, he was a ruler, through all that he had wealth and lived a very comfortable life. A life, as he himself testifies to, dedicated to Almighty God. Obeying the laws and walking in the ways of Almighty God.
We, too, sometimes find ourselves in the same situation, living comfortably while striving to walk in the way of Almighty God. Some of us have followed the command of Jesus literally and left everything and are following Jesus. However, what characteristic possessions do we possess that are not of God?
For you see it is a wonderful picture to leave everything and follow Jesus, but what about that which happens within the heart?
This morning, we are called to also examine our hearts and see: Am I truly a fruit bearer of the Holy Spirit for Almighty God?
For when we become fruit bearers of the Holy Spirit, then all the things of the earth will become nothing to us, as our hearts will yearn more and more for the treasures of heaven.
My dear brothers and sisters, what is blocking or hindering you this morning from fully letting go and following Jesus?
For I am a living testimony this morning, that when you let go and leave family behind – trust me, it’s easier said than done, for the missing of one’s family never really disappears, just the how to deal with it gets better – but leaving and letting go, Almighty God blesses you with so much more. Here I am in this wonderful community, I think all my brothers are wonderful, I hope they think the same of me, for they all unknowingly are building blocks as I look to them and see their devotion and faithfulness, that I have no choice but to turn back to God, time and time again.
As we journey with Jesus this week, may we reflect on what areas in our lives there are still hindrances to fully following Almighty God? For He will send assistance and help on our way, if we just allow Him to give us that rest.