When you’re ready to give up everything to God, you’re ready to receive everything from God.
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” Matthew 16:24, 25
Thank you Evan for the powerful Words! I know they are not mere words that remind us but are meant to revolutionize the world. This is what I am working on!
Hi Evan,
Just what exactly does that mean? I have given up just about everything, including my home, to be in a profession that I truly believe my Father wants me to be doing. Yet, month after month after month little supply hardly trickles in. I have a creditor ready to take legal action too. All I have left are a few household items in storage.
On the flip side, I know I have spiritual abundance and that I am blessed in so many ways. I work every day to give up all material thoughts and to, as Mrs. Eddy says, look away from matter into Spirit. Yet constant struggle.
Your thoughts?
To answer Anonymous #2, to the best of my understanding, it means thought. One could still enjoy the pleasures of this world, but still have his thoughts on spiritual ideas. The material ideas are the traditions imposed upon in their worshipping of God.
A student of Mrs. Eddy’s once wrote her that he was ready to give up all.
She immediately sent him a telegram in which she said there is no need to give up anything good, just the belief in materiality. (don’t have exact source with me at work…)
To anon above,
To me, it means to give up everything that gets in the way of demonstrating continued spiritual growth. It’s not what we’re doing with our hands that counts so much as what we’re doing with our thoughts. Are our thoughts in heavenly places, spiritually productive places? Or are they burdened with fear, worry, anxiety. The fear, worry, anxiety, is what we must give up.
The work God “wants us to do” more than anything, is to be spiritually minded, expressive of love, walking in the footsteps of Christ. Humans do this in degrees, step by step, and it often includes some type of career, work, to pay the bills along the way. And we each hear that differently, how those ideas are going to work out in our life. But rest assured, that wherever God leads you includes the supply you need to get there.
A former treasurer of the Mother Church who was from a well known wealthy family, when often asked about “giving up” said that the only thing he gave up when he became a Christian Scientist was his silver cigarette case. He gave it to a friend.