LETTING GO to TAKE HOLD

 

March 7, 2025

This Weeks Theme Verse

Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

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Matthew 9:9 - 15

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

 

Do you find it is easy to go through the motions of spritual practices, like attending church, saying prayers, or perhaps even fasting here and there, reading devotionals, without really engaging our hearts? Perhaps lately you have been wondering what it means to truly connect with God or maybe wondering how faith can be more than rituals. This why the season on Lent is so valuable to us. You see, Lent invites us to shift from surface-level actions to genuine surrender, ("Letting Go"). Imagine for a moment today, what could happen if this season became about aligning our hearts with God’s purposes and stepping into or "taking up" something more meaningful.

Our Gospel reading today is Matthew 9:9-15. In this passage, Jesus calls Matthew to follow after him as his student. Matthew lets go of other things and takes hold of the way of Jesus. We see that Jesus comes to heal us inwardly to be people who are whole and free. We take action and movements towards God but it is never about the means or practices, but instead about the end goal of moving deeper into a relationship with God. God desires hearts that are accepting of this divine love and learning to love others. That is after all what Jesus said was the heart of the Kingdom of God, LOVE GOD and LOVE OTHERS.

RESPONSE

Identify one way you can take a step towards God today or show love to someone in your life.