Spiritual Closet

Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:33 (NIV)

It happens every couple of months. The floor of my closet disappears, submerged under mismatched socks, shirts that no longer fit and pants that I could wear if only I would lose those five extra pounds. The items hanging up become tangled with each other, and for some mysterious reason, there are clothes that just hang by themselves, with no hanger, sandwiched between others. Some items, like an old bridesmaid dress from my brother's wedding, have been in the closet for nearly fifteen years! I lose some of my favorite things as well, buried beneath the cast-off's. That is when I get out a garbage bag and pack up what seems like three-quarters of my clothes and give them away.

When I read this verse, I was reminded to clean out my spiritual closet. I must be willing to give up everything that gets in the way of being a disciple of Jesus. Everything in my closet must be considered for surrender. Is spending my time on certain activities worthwhile? Are they contributing to my discipleship or are they holding me back? The same goes with the people I know. Do I need to repair a relationship, or even let someone go who is hindering my Christian walk? Do I own my material possessions or do they own me? Nothing is off limits from consideration.

I read a story once about a man who canceled his newspaper subscription because it was interfering with his relationship with Christ. Am I willing to go that far? The verse today says I should be willing to give up everything. Nothing is so big it cannot be removed from my life to make room for Christ and nothing is so small that it cannot trip up my faith-walk. Just like streamlining and organizing my clothes closet increases my personal efficiency, cleaning out my spiritual closet increases my effectiveness in being a follower of Christ.

God, help me to clean out my spiritual closet; to get rid of those things in my life that are holding back my faith. Increase my effectiveness by driving out those things that do not support my life in You. Amen.

Nikki Hamsher