Leave them at the cross of Jesus, take instead His
kingdom’s reign.
Bring your thirsts, for He will quench them --- He alone
will satisfy.
All our longings find attainment when to self we gladly
die.
---Marva J. Dawn, 1999
From pop culture to Protestant work ethic, from
self-realization to prosperity gospel, even the loose cherry-picked readings of
some of the New Testament’s “red letter writings” --- all over, the universe seems to be sending us a message loud
and clear: If you want it, come and get it. Take what you need. The desires
of your heart are there for a reason. Seek and you will find. Work for what you
want. God wants you to have nice things.
Here’s the thing, though. When we are invited, coaxed,
beckoned, called by Jesus to walk in his path, we do hear “Ask, and it will
be given you; search, and you will find….For everyone who asks receives.” But I can’t help but look at Jesus’ life among the
poor and broken, and think that perpetual Christmas morning excess is not what
he had in mind. I hear Jesus say, “When you lay down the distraction
of what you thought you wanted,
you can begin to focus on the real life of the spirit. And I will meet every
need. And you will finally be able to stop striving, and running after, and
grasping, and resenting. And then, friend, you will know what
it is to live.”
Lay down your burdens at the cross. Pick up life.
