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DO YOU REALLY WANT THAT CHEESE?By Matt Pudas
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One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the Rich Young Ruler. Luke chapter 18, starting in verse 18 tellsthe story. Guy comes to Jesus and ask what do I have to do to live forever? Jesus tells him that he knowsthe commandments, the Top Ten. The kid tells Him, I have kept all of them since I was little. Jesus thentells him that he lacks one thing, give everything he has away and follow Him. Guy leaves sad. Why? Ithink there are two reasons and they go hand in hand.First, the dude did not want to be poor. He liked being rich. Honestly, can you blame him? Who doesn’twant to be rich? So, he gets real sad thinking about giving everything away. His wealth is that one thingthat he just can’t let go. It is the one thing that is more important to him than eternal life. We all havethat one thing. It is different depending on what you have, but be honest. Is there something that youhave that always seems to hinder your relationship with God? Maybe it is the fact that you watch toomuch TV or spend too much time on social media. Maybe it is being obsessed with your fitness orappearance. Maybe you are a workaholic. Whatever, we all have something. Something that we spendtoo much time or effort to maintain when we should be working on our relationship with Jesus. This guywas clinging to his money. For him, it was more important. I heard about study with lab mice that wasdone years ago. They placed a sealed box inside a cage. In the box was a piece of cheese. The box hadone tiny hole in it. The mice would go to the box, sniff, and then try to figure out how to the cheese. Themice could squeeze one paw through the hole and grab the cheese, but could not pull it back out. In acorner of the cage was feed and water. Some mice were so determined to hang on to the cheese thatthey passed out. A few even died from dehydration. Are you ready to let go of your cheese?Second, remember his question? I think he wanted to know how little he had to do to get eternity.When Jesus answered, the job was too hard. I think for us it is the same. It takes a lot of effort to turnoff the TV, put down the phone, leave work at the office, skip a workout, … whatever and just focus onJesus. Most times, I think it is too hard because we want that thing more. Eternity, that is a long way off.Maybe, maybe not.I think the rich, young ruler wanted a quick and easy answer to his question. What he got was one thatinvolved too much work and too much personal loss. He left sad because it was not worth it. Eternity.Not worth it. Again, be honest. The way you spend your day, the way you spend your time and money –does it tell people around you that you think Jesus is worth it? Some days, I know the sad truthfulanswer to that question for me. That is why I know I must keep working on my relationship with Jesus.He has given me the answer, I just have to keep living in a way that says it is worth it.And, let go of the cheese!
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