Drawn to Jesus

Did you ever wonder what compels us to Jesus; what about Him draws us in?  In his book, Give it All to Him, Max Lucado tells the story of a girl with a bag full of trash.  He identifies a man who knows exactly what’s in her trash bag.  On the outside, her bag looks like everyone else’s—heavy, bulky—with no way to see the inside.  But somehow, he knew and his response to knowing was, “Will you give me your trash,” (23).  At his question she’s left wondering, “How could he know what he knew?  And how could he know and still be so kind?”  When the world sees our loads they offer up other suggestions: Your therapist tells you to talk about it, but at the end of the hour you still have to take your bags with you; your friends tell you not to feel bad; feel-great-about-life rallies tell you to ignore it and be happy, but eventually that wears off; and legalists tell you to work it off, (20).  And in the end, where does it all get you?

God says: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness,” (Jeremiah 31:3); “I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them,” (Hosea 11:4).  Even in our lowest, worst states, Jesus has loved us and God has beckoned us.  So really, the choice is totally ours.

And what about the girl, what happened to her?  When she approached the man and it was her turn to give him her trash bags, she hesitated.  But “His eyes compel her to step forward.  He reaches for  her trash and takes it from her. ‘You can’t live with this,’ he explains. ‘You weren’t made to,’”(35).

Regardless of what is in the bags, Jesus wants us to give it to Him.  There is absolutely no benefit that comes from carrying it—only harm.  So just as He asked the girl, He’s asking you: Will you give up your trash--your baggage—to Jesus?  Will you dare to chance living a life that’s totally free—free from shame, anger, rage, guilt, and pain—free to be a child filled with joy who dances in His courts?  “You can’t live with this….You weren’t mean to.”

They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD…They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more. ~ Jeremiah 31:12