Have you ever found yourself at a Point of No Return? You know one of those moments in life where you knew whatever decision you were about to make would change the course of your life forever.
There can many of these moments in life: deciding what school to attend, who to marry, when to have children, what job to take, where to move etc. All these decisions feel like a point of no return for sure. In many ways, our lives are shaped by the decision that we make in moments like these.
But what about our faith? What about, who you say that Jesus is and the repercussions of that belief upon your life?
In today’s gospel lesson we see how everything in life hangs on this decision....
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What does it mean for us to believe and to follow Jesus especially when we are not sure we understand how?
I good place to start is to recognize our idols. What are the idols or false gods that you and I have called upon or followed or allowed to form our identity before that of being God’s own or listening to God’s word, or following God’s desire?
You might not even know what I am talking about when I ask it this way. So let expand just a bit. What has shaped your views of the world and your relationships to other people, the people you spend time with and those you don’t? What has influenced how you think about the things you own, your stuff, the money that you have? What have you guided your decision making when thinking about your career or ways in which you might relate to family or community? What tends to mold the way you think, the way you act, the way speak?
For many of us, if we take an honest look into these answers, we might just find some idols, things in which we have placed in front of Jesus. We might just find some false gods in which we have placed our hope instead of Jesus.
I know this sounds all to Christianeeze, but the truth be told many of us would rather serve the god we have created for ourselves than we would the God who created us. We would rather have God in a comfortable box we can manage than trust in God to manage the affairs of our lives. We rather express love of God than we would be enamored by His love. We would rather live-in darkness instead of allowing His light to shine upon our darkness.
We know God is bigger, but we are not sure we really want to know a bigger God.
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The battle that wages wars against our souls is far greater than you or I have known. The battle is won in Jesus. Jesus is our salvation, Jesus is our righteousness, Jesus is our truth, His word is a powerful sword, our faith in him quiches the flaming arrows of the evil one and only by him, in him, and through him can we bring the shalom of God into the world, which is the sharing of the Good News of Jesus, the Gospel of peace.
“Lord, where else shall I go, you have the words of eternal life”. “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord”
May we no longer follow the false gods or hold onto worthless idols, but may we lay them down and find out what pleases the Lord and do it, may we seek the Lord while he wills to be found and call upon him when he draws near and find that his Word does in fact accomplish that which he has purposed and prospers in that for which he has sent it. Amen.
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