Pursuing Christ

This year, around the holidays, I find myself struggling with materialism. Seeing the commercials on TV, watching shows and movies that depict families in ideal settings that really are not realistic to the majority of Americans. And definitely not the rest of the world. I find myself wishing my circumstances were different. Better. Wishing I had a bigger, better house. Wishing I was more comfortable financially. Wishing I had made different choices that would potentially have allowed me to be in better circumstances.

Then, I realized I was losing my focus. I am allowing materialism to become more important to me than what Jesus tells me should be important. i am beginning to pursue what this work tells me is important no longer pursuing Jesus.

This makes me reflect that I am thankful for the financial hardships I have faced. The Lord knows where each of our hang ups lie. He knows that if I am financially secure, I would be much less likely to seek Him. And He desires to have a relationship with me. He pursues me by creating circumstances where I will hopefully make the choice to turn to Him. For this I am thankful. I want to keep pursuing Jesus, not what this world deems important. And dare I say tries to tell us is necessary.

What are you pursuing? What do you find yourself focusing on? A career? Having a nice car or a larger house? Living in a certain neighborhood? Having all the latest and greatest electronics and gadgets? We are surrounded by voices and images telling us we need all these things. It is so easy to become distracted from what is really important and next thing you know, you are pursuing things of this world, not Christ. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 to store up treasures in heaven. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

I want to pursue Jesus. I want my treasures to be stored up in heaven. Thank you Jesus, for pursuing me. For allowing circumstances in my life that redirect my focus to you. I do not want to become distracted by what this world has to offer. I want to desire you more than anything else.