When counselees or others confess to following Jesus, loving Jesus, and desiring to honor Jesus, they are saying oftentimes that Jesus is welcome into their lives. He is a great guest, a great friend to have around, and a great companion. However, is He allowed to make the same person’s life His dwelling? Now, that’s a different issue.
When I talk to people, many individuals confess to following Jesus, loving Jesus, and desiring to honor Jesus. At the same time, many of those same people willingly follow Jesus in every area of living except one or two specific areas. Sometimes, these places are apparent; sometimes not so much so. For instance, I have had counselees tell me, “I am willing to follow Jesus, but I can’t forgive this person.” Or, “I love God, but I think He understands that I need to be happy.” Maybe you get the idea. There are one or two places in life where the Christ-follower is simply not willing to trust or obey God in that one particular place. My question this morning to you and me alike, What is your “one thing”?
The “One Thing” Can Have Many Looks and Many Voices.
It is easy to justify ourselves, isn’t it? Maybe your thinking sounds something like this: “I think God understands. God knows my weakness. He understands.”
Or, possibly your thinking falls along these lines, “I need to do this in order to help my family. My responsibility is to them and if I do what I think God may want me to do, and it does not turn out well, what am I supposed to do then?”
Another couple of statements I’ve heard, “You just don’t understand how angry I am.”
“I know he/she wants me to do this and it would really make them happy or encourage them, but I am not willing.”
“If I try to do what honors the Lord in this moment, then he/she is just going to go back to the way he/she used to be. I can’t let that happen.”
Do you recognize any of those statements as something similar to what you think or say?