Torn!

One of the tricky parts of walking with Jesus is the sense that we have of not quite fitting.

I was talking to one of the ladies in our church this afternoon who spoke of her disquiet while visiting relatives.

The family had a "nice" home and had borrowed much money to pay for it, and then added a huge extension to fit their growing family. The house had a pool, plenty of land and a great view. But it came at a great price, because the middle class dream was their entire life.

They had everything but their life was quite empty and devoid of meaning.

It is easy to see this in others, but the dilemma for many of us is that we still like nice things. The fleshly part of our lives demands to be fed. In fact it is quite insatiable.

The more we get the more we want. The world is constantly dangling trinkets in front of us tempting us to take our eyes off Jesus.

As long as we live in this world and in these bodies, we will face this temptation to believe "If I just get one more thing I will be happy." So at times we can feel torn between following the way of Jesus and following the way of the world.

There is nothing wrong with living a comfortable life. I like air conditioning, colour televisions and smart-phones.

The danger is in believing that these things are a goal in themselves.

Jesus said "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" (Mark 8:36)

It's not that you have to be poor to be a Christian. No, but what is necessary is to determine that every need for security, significance and happiness will be met at the hand of God and not in anything we have or do.

Just put God in the first place in your heart, and you will find that everything you need comes to you as a result.