LETTING GO

Matthew 16:24-25

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

                This past week was, in many ways, an exercise in letting go. To be honest, letting go is not fun. It is most often painful and challenging. Letting go is releasing control of things, which we, as humans, find very difficult.

                On Friday, I performed the funeral for a long-time member of our church. Because of her age and her health, she had not been active for several years. I tried to visit her periodically, but schedules and demands often got in the way. As I led her family and friends in a time of reflection, I was struck by my own loss. I will never again have the privilege of ministering to this lady. As often happens at funerals, I was struck with regret over not having done more for her in her last years. I not only had to let go of her, but I had to let go of my relationship with her.

                On Saturday, I gathered with a small group of colleagues at the hospital to bring to an end our time there as Associate Chaplains. Because of system-wide restructuring, we had all been let go by the hospital. I thought I had dealt with this loss pretty well, until I shared that time with my colleagues. All of the emotions of loss came flooding over me. I had lost my role at the hospital. I had to let go of what that role afforded me. In some ways, I felt like I was being shut out. Together, we let go of our role, our grief, and our disappointment. As I listened to the reflections of some of the others, I wished that I had done more while I had the chance.

                We see letting go in a negative light. Letting go feels like losing. Letting go feels like we have somehow failed. Letting go feels like the loss of power and control. But, Jesus says that letting go is the way of life.

                Jesus said that being His disciples means letting go of control of our lives and allowing Him to be in control. For many people, this is the stumbling block that keeps them from accepting the gift of salvation that Jesus offers. They would rather be in control of their lives than to turn that control over the Jesus. Ironically, when we fight to maintain control of our lives, we end up losing the very thing we are trying to hold onto.

                True freedom is only found in letting go of control and submitting to the leadership Of Jesus. As long as we refuse to let go, we are in a constant battle. We must constantly work to maintain our control and to fend off any threat to that control. Instead of being free, we become boxed in. Our world becomes small and confining. But, when we let go and submit to Jesus’ control, we discover that we have gained true freedom.

                In John 8:34-36, Jesus explains that our passion for control is really bondage to sin. Sin always offers us what it cannot and will not provide. It promises pleasure and fulfillment and autonomy, but it gives us pain, dissatisfaction, and slavery. Jesus, on the other hand, offers us true freedom.

    Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:34-36

                Jesus didn’t come into this world to rob us of our fun and our freedom. He came to give us life. The things of this world are really thieves that steal our life from us. Jesus, the very source of life, has come to give us life, both now and for all eternity.

    The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

                The path to true freedom is letting go of control and allowing Jesus to be the Lord of our lives. We do not have to live with unhealthy regrets. We can rest in Christ’s love for us. We can be assured of Christ’s forgiveness for us. We can trust Christ to take our efforts and transform them into something glorious. The weight of the world is not on our shoulders, it is on His. So, we can let go, knowing that He has things perfectly under control.