May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it! 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (MSG)
Many years ago when I first started to have a relationship with Jesus, I had an experience that I will never forget. I was sitting in a Bible Study with a group of ladies from my church; I left the church for many years and was just coming back. And when I say the church, don’t get confused. I left the church because I did not have a relationship with Jesus. I attended church. Not the same thing as having a relationship and if what you have is only church attendance, it’s not going to fill you the way Jesus will.
Anyway, we were sitting in my living room and we were going around the room talking about what we needed to surrender to be closer to Jesus. I was sitting next to the Pastor’s wife. Now keep in mind, I am just learning to have a relationship with Jesus but I grew up going to church. So I had a list as long as my arm about what I thought I needed to give up. The Pastor’s wife said “I need to give up chocolate.”
Excuse me? My brain was firing at 100 miles an hour as I thought “What kind of statement is that? That is not something to give up! That is ridiculous! Chocolate is not a sin. It’s not even a thing to give up!” And of course, I immediately reflected on my list and decided there was no way I was going to list anything on it out loud.
I look back on that now and realize how wrong I was. Not necessarily about chocolate but about how Jesus calls us. You see, he meets us where we are and he changes our hearts one step at a time to be fully surrendered to him. My super long list was between me and Jesus. And the Pastor’s wife chocolate was between her and Jesus. Jesus doesn’t compare my list to anyone else’s list and he doesn’t classify our sins as if one is worse than the others.
What is sin? Sin is anything that replaces Jesus in your heart. It’s whatever knocks him off the throne. You know that long list I had, he eventually, through our relationship together, removed those things from my life. I don’t struggle with chocolate. Lately it’s been potato chips. Not that eating potato chips is wrong - it’s just that I do it when I am stressed and overwhelmed. I go to those instead of Jesus for my comfort.
And this Jesus knows. He is talking to me about depending on him instead of a momentary satisfaction that lasts all of 5 minutes.
I guess what I am trying to share is this. We look at each other and decide if we are “better Christians” than the next guy based on what we see on the outside. But Jesus is looking at our hearts. He’s trying to get us to see what replaces him there. It doesn’t matter if it is lust for someone of the opposite sex, greed, stealing or a bag of potato chips. It’s all the same. They all replace him.
So what do we do about that? We focus on Jesus. Walk with him, talk with him and let him change our hearts. We stop comparing ourselves to each other. And we encourage and love each other along the way pointing each other to the only person who can fill hearts with what we truly need. Jesus.