Leaving and cleaving.
We do it when we marry, but how do we leave the world behind and cleave to Jesus? This first task of leaving is a tough one. Luke 12:13-34 is Jesus’ slap at those whose heart is wrapped around the things of this world.

Leaving the cheap substitutes for the pearl of great price is hard. How do we leave?

One of two things must happen. Either the value of the life you’ve got must be cheapened, or the value of the life promised must increase. As the risk/reward ratio changes, we become convinced of the superior value of the life of abandon and faith to which Jesus has called us. Once we have compared the two, and found our current lifestyle wanting, it is a matter of simple logistics.

It’s like playing the TV show “The Price is Right.” Most Americans want to hang on to the life they’ve got now – that is to say, the insurance policies, the mortgage, the furniture – the stuff that keeps them secure. They can see it. It’s a safe bet. What’s behind the curtain is dangerous. It could be a fabulous prize – a vacation to Tahiti, or it could a joke – a donkey pulling a broken-down wagon.

We prefer the current life that we can see and are comfortable with to the one that Jesus describes in all his parables about the kingdom of heaven. Don't you struggle with this? I've got a beautiful house and a nice little routine I go thru most days. But it doesn't require the radical dependence on the Lord that he is inviting me to.

And that begs the question, "what do I do?" What do we who live in America do? We are richer and have more stuff than 99% of the people on the earth and too often, take a lot of that stuff for granted. We are called to a life of abandon and don't even want to think about it - it sounds too radical and we're too soft. Honestly, I have been struggling with this most of my life - this is a hard teaching from Jesus. What about you, do you have a plan for getting there?