What Holds You Back?

“What Holds You Back?”

By Zach Wood

Matthew 19:21-22

Here is the story of the rich young man that so many of us have read about time and time again.  I’m sure many of us learned about him in Sunday School through the years and have heard several sermons as well regarding his encounter with jesus.

This man was ecstatic at first because he told Jesus how he had kept the commandments and had done his checklist.  This man accumulated a lot of things and great wealth and wanted to follow Jesus.  However, we see that he was not willing to let go of what he had and give it all to Jesus in order to follow.  It wasn’t that what he had was wrong, but that his heart attitude was all wrong.  He wasn’t willing to give all he had to serve. 

In the man’s eyes, Jesus was asking way too much commitment.  He held onto too much to completely follow Christ.  This is a huge lesson for each of us to consider in our lives.  We may not be wealthy or have many material things, but with what things we do have, are we willing to give up anything Christ asks us to in order to serve Him better?  If He would ask us to get rid of something or sell it to bless someone else financially, what will we do?

There’s so much that can keep us from completely following Jesus.  We just need to ask ourselves every single day if we are completely committed.  We need to examine our hearts and ask God to reveal what it is that keeps us from being fully committed.

What holds us back from full commitment to Christ?