Barriers
 

Barriers

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me". When the young man heard this, he went away sad because he was very rich. --Matthew (19:21-22)

Every choice implies a gain and a loss. The loss is the price we pay for the gain. The man in the gospel story was unwilling to pay the price, unwilling to transcend the barrier of his riches so that he could follow Jesus. The story loses its full meaning if we think it deals merely with material barriers. Sometimes attitudes can be harder to give up than possessions or money. Following Christ would also mean giving up our facades and illusions, our pretenses of being someone other than who we really are. It would mean giving up the illusion of independence. Following Christ would mean giving up any of our personal barriers that would prevent us from being his friends. We all have such barriers. Which of them are we most reluctant to give up?

Lord, you know my weaknesses. Help me to identify and give up the barriers that prevent me from following you.

Focus Your Day