Even If It Means…
It was Christmas Eve and she couldn’t wait to go to bed! She wanted that bike so bad she could taste it! It was imprinted in her mind like a stamp on her brain…pink, with long curved handle bars that had rainbow tassels on the ends, a big banana seat that sparkled in the sun, and fat black tires with white trim.
Her parents told her that her behavior determined whether or not Santa would bring her this bike for Christmas. So, like many young impressionable little girls that had fairy tale dreams and firm beliefs in Santa, she did her best, to do her best, and waited somewhat impatiently for Christmas to come.
Her Mom and Dad tried not to encourage her too much about the bike. Her brothers were no help at all. They would always tease with “it’s not gonna be there…you haven’t been good enough.” You know…those jibes and quips big brothers usually torment their little sisters with. Which of course only made her surprise and joy Christmas morning all the more glorious.
There it was.
Right by the tree. Pink. With long curved handle bars that had rainbow tassels on the handles. A big banana seat that she just knew would sparkle in the sun. And fat black tires with white trim. It was breathtaking! She just stood there, taking it all in, her heart practically bursting with excitement.
Little girl hopes.
Little girl dreams.
Easily brought to fruition by a mom and a dad.
Not so easy for her little heart to let go of. But then, she wasn’t asked to.
“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it’.”
Matthew 16:24-25
As we grow up, hopes change, dreams change.
Is there something you want so bad you could taste it? Something you want with all of your heart?
Something only your heavenly Father can give you.
So you ask.
He says wait.
So, you wait.
You keep waiting. And think He has forgotten. So you ask again.
He still says wait.
You say, “I’ve waited too long. I’m tired of waiting.”
And so you make choices you feel are in your own best interest. As a result have you become deaf to His voice? Has your waiting become testing?
Trust me when I say it can get very dark and lonely in the testing. But when you finally decide to listen, to let your heavenly Father bring you back into his arms, it is worth the silence so you can hear.
And He may ask, like He asked of me, “Will you let go of it? Your dreams, your wants, your desires. Will you lay it on the altar and let it go? Are you willing? Even if it means______?”
Even if it means…
Do you realize what He was asking, what He was wanting? He wants more than just your sacrifice. He wants your heart. All of your heart.
Are your hands holding on to something else? Something you have to let go of in order to grasp what He has planned for you?
In Matthew, Jesus said that if we want to follow him, then we must take up our cross. Jesus said this. Knowing full well his own future held a cross that he would soon take up and bear to that place…the place of his own ultimate sacrifice. Calvary.
Now you must answer the question. What in your life are you unwilling to sacrifice in order to experience the greater works that God is calling you to? What is more important to you? What are you unwilling to let go of? What is your answer? It could only be, yes. Yes, Lord. Even if it means…
Christ calls us to take up our cross. But how can we, if our hands are already full?
Dear Father. You know my dreams! You know my hopes! But sometimes I wonder about them. Help me to see my dreams the way You see them. Show me Your dreams for me! Oh, how much I want my hopes and dreams to match Yours! Make them big, God! Make them big! Like You. Give me the strength to let go of anything and everything that keeps me from them. Amen.
