Knowing When To Let Go

I don’t remember the author, but he once told the story of an encounter he had with sea gulls: “Several years ago our family visited Niagara Falls. It was spring, and ice was rushing down the river. As I viewed the large blocks of ice flowing toward the falls, I could see that there were dead fish embedded in the ice. Gulls by the score were riding down the river feeding on the fish. As they came to the brink of the falls, their wings would go out, and they would escape from the falls. “I watched one gull which seemed to delay and wondered when it would leave. It was engrossed in the fish, and when it finally came to the brink of the falls, out went its powerful wings. The bird flapped and flapped and even lifted the ice out of the water, and I thought it would escape. But it had delayed too long so that its claws had frozen into the ice. The weight of the ice was too great, and the gull plunged into the abyss.”

How sad that even though the bird had plenty of time to fly away, because it delayed it paid the price. Now think of this story in terms of the Christian life. When we become overly enthralled with the things of this world, they can bring us down and cause our spiritual death. The finest attractions of this world become deadly when we become overly attached to them. If we cannot give up the things of this world and focus on Christ, we cannot be used by Him. Our eyes must be upward on Christ rather than downward on this world.

It has been said, “when things come between us and Christ, we express idolatry. But when Christ comes between us and things, we experience victory!” Knowing when and what to let go of can be one of life’s greatest challenges. We must not assume that the Christian life is simply a matter of giving things up. Christianity is not about living a joyless life of deprivation. But neither should we be naïve enough to believe that we can make meaningful progress in our faith while stubbornly holding on to the things that weigh us down. There are some things we must release if we are going to run well, walk faithfully, and follow Christ wholeheartedly.

It is the reason that the author of Hebrews wrote… “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1–2)

Those words paint a vivid picture of Olympic styled runners from the ancient Athenian games who wore long robes prior to their races but removed them before competing— for obvious reasons like not becoming tangled up or trying to run with extra weight. The goal is not simply to start the race but to run well and finish the race.

And that is precisely the picture the writer of Hebrews gives us concerning the Christian life. There are things that are sinful that we must lay aside, lest they take us over the “fall”. But there are also weights—things that we have latched onto that may not necessarily be sinful in themselves, but nevertheless hinder our progress with Christ. The question is not merely, “Is this wrong?” The question is, “Is this helping me run?” Some things may be perfectly legitimate and yet spiritually unhelpful. Some things may not be sinful, but they can consume our time, capture our affection, drain our attention, and gradually pull our eyes away from Jesus. So why must we learn when and what to let go of? Because God is always trying to take us someplace new. I love being your Pastor!

For God’s Glory Alone,
Pastor Ray

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