Did you ever see the ‘I Love Lucy” episode about the candy factory? For a while, Lucy & Ethel can get all the candy in the wrappers. But as the belt brings them faster and faster they can’t keep up. It’s hilarious!
Life is like that… but not so hilarious. Life seems to be a series of uncontrolled events strung together and I am simply moving through them one day at a time… and I can’t keep up. I know I’m a Christian, but my life sure doesn’t feel full of love, joy, peace, or patience.
I preached a message about a man who walked away from Jesus because he had too many riches to give up. We call him the ‘rich, young, ruler.’ Others have nicknamed him ‘The man who missed heaven by a few dollars.’
You can read part of my sermon: Don’t Walk Away From Jesus. But this story is about more than eternal life and riches and Jesus. This is a story about every Christian and the life that we want and the life God wants to give us.
1. This is about more than eternal life, it is about abundant life.
Just because you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior does not mean there’s nothing you can learn from this story. Many of you know you are going to Heaven, but there’s something lacking in your life now – abundant life.
Eternal life not only describes the length of the life God gives His children, but also the depth. Like the children’s song, eternal life is ‘Deep & Wide.’ If you have trusted Christ as Savior, you have eternal life now. You don’t have to wait to die to live it. You can experience that kind of life now. It is a life of peace, love, joy, and deep satisfaction and contentment. It is the abundant life.
If you don’t have it, come to Jesus and ask Him what you need to do to receive it.
2. This is about more than riches, it is about anything that keeps us from Jesus.
For the rich, young, ruler, his riches kept him from the life Jesus wanted him to live. Riches aren’t bad, but for him, they became his god. His whole life had been spent earning and saving and now Jesus wants him to sell and give it all away. He wouldn’t let himself turn from the things that had captured his heart and passion.
But for you it might be sports, health, fame, a hobby, your family, a relationship, your reputation or anything that has kept you away from fully following Jesus.
One of my favorite verses in the Bible describes the Christian life as a race. Hebrews 12:1 tells us, “…let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us.” We obviously should put away sin. But God tells us we must put aside any ‘weight’ that prevents us from running our race.
I encourage you to drop any activity or change any behavior that is not allowing you to run your Christian life at peak performance.
3. This is about more than Jesus, it is about His church.
Many Christians follow Jesus, but refuse to participate in church. There’s even a book out called, “Love Jesus. Hate Church.” I have been part of church for all my life. So, I can really understand the negative attitude toward ‘organized’ Christianity. But just because you have one bad meal at a restaurant, or even one bad restaurant, doesn’t mean eating out is a bad thing.
Think about this… The only thing Jesus left on earth to represent Him was the church – ‘His Body.’ The local church is central to the plan of God to rescue people from sin. If God has made the church central, why is it not central in our life? Why have we made optional, what Christ made essential? Why have we placed church on the fringe, when He made church the center? We need to rearrange our life around the mission of God. If for no other reason, our love for Jesus begs us to love His church.
I hope you put aside what has prevented you from enjoying the abundant Christian life. You just may discover your answer at church this Sunday.
You can read some similar articles: 3 Phrases When You Want to Quit, Lessons from my First Marathon, A Place to Belong, Why go to church?