Have you ever had to give up something?
Have you ever given up something that you had come to
love, something that you truly loved?
Maybe you’ve given up your home, the place that your family
grew up in, the place that held your family close, all wrapped up in love and
warmth and safety…yes, a safe place where your heart thrived and lived and
loved. I had to give up a home like
that, thankfully I understood, that yes, I loved my home but it was not what
defined me, it was not what defined my family, it was not my treasure, my
family was, the love was.
Where my treasure was, that is where my heart was. So I was able to let go and to give up my
home. I was on the move and I was going to be okay, my treasure was coming with
me, love…in memories. When I left that
old farm house, I took a long look, I looked at everything.
I had to give up my husband, he was the fibre of our family,
he was the one who supplied our needs, the one who always, always made sure we
had food on the table, clothes on our backs and money in the bank…always money
for a rainy day. It was his strong arms
who held our family, kept us strong, giving us a way to be stronger, again and
again. His hands were held out for a
touch, a simple touch of caring, the touch of love. He was on the move and I was going to be
okay, his treasure coming with me, love in memories. When I left his side that day, I took a long
look, I looked at everything.
In my lifetime, I have given up other things, hard things,
some of them were sacrifices knowing that in order to give them up I was losing
something valuable but in the end gaining something too. I knew that changes
were about to happen, things were going to be different. I knew that I was going to be different. Sacrifices…giving something up, each time I
did, I took a long look, I looked at everything.
I wonder if this is how it was for Jesus, when He entered
Jerusalem and went to the Temple, Mark 11:11 says He looked around at everything...did
He see that this was the place he loved, that this was the place that held his
heart, the place where He shared His Fathers love, showed it, gave it, honored
it. Did He see now that things were about to change, that He was giving up the way He knew this place.
He looked around at everything.
Soon and very soon, He would be giving up something more.
But even so...though He was losing something valuable, He was gaining so much more, that even in this sacrifice, God had looked around at everything... for God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His son to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
A treasure gained...I love that.
But even so...though He was losing something valuable, He was gaining so much more, that even in this sacrifice, God had looked around at everything... for God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His son to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
A treasure gained...I love that.
