Nothing Between?

Have you ever had a friend so close that you had no secrets between you and them? Was there ever something that you didn't tell them?

Hey GEM Girls! Have you ever had a friendship that was ruined when you kept something between the two of you? It is true that hidden stuff in a relationship can cause problems, whether that be a romantic relationship or just friend-to-friend. But have you ever thought about how having something between you and God can affect your relationship?

Recently I read the story of the rich young ruler and was amazed at how many new things jumped out at me. Pretend for a moment that you are the rich young ruler just approaching Jesus. You ask Jesus, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

You feel pretty good about yourself overall, but you ask just in case there might be something you forgot. "What do I lack?" On the outside, the rich young ruler had it all together. He kept most of the commandments and had a pretty good life.

But Jesus looked past the outside of the young man. He saw something that the ruler held closer to his heart than anything else. "Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. "(Matt 19: 21-22)

Jesus had just invited the young man to be a part of His followers but the cost was too high. The rich young ruler could not bring himself to give up his riches for the sake of Jesus's invitation. Can you imagine having that kind of invitation from Jesus Himself and saying no for such a small reason? Well, Jesus actually extends that same invitation to you and me as well.

The moment of conviction is different for all of us. When Jesus gently knocks on our heart door and tells us that we are holding onto something that is keeping us from Him.

We can easily brush aside the voice of conviction. Our lives get busy and we can walk away from God like the rich young ruler. We can make ourselves feel better by looking at all the stuff we do right. Sometimes we might be tempted to say “All these things I have kept from my youth!”

But God keeps giving us those moments of conviction where he breaks through the noise of our busy lives. He breaks through our self-righteousness and He asks us to give up that thing that we are holding back. In the rich young ruler’s case, it was his possessions that he held close to his heart. And that one thing prevented him from following Jesus.

What is that thing in your life that is between you and Jesus? Are you willing to give it up to follow Him in a deeper way? Share in the comments below!

Love,

Your Sister in Christ,