Jesus, Be the Center

I still haven't learned. Every time I take my laundry to throw it in the washer, I struggle for a good 30 feet trying to transport the mountain of laundry in my arms, walking in slow motion so the sock balancing on top won't fall. Then it happens - that lone sock goes overboard, and I'm suddenly struggling to pick it back up. As I lean down to grab it, more and more falls. Soon it's like an avalanche, and everything in my arms tumbles down.

A friend shared this situation with me recently as analogy for our faith. We start out thinking we have a strong hold on most everything, and we end up dropping one thing, then another, and then it all comes unraveled. We can't do it all, no matter how many times we repeat Philippians 4:13. Christ absolutely will equip us with the strength and skill to live into his will, but this verse is not a free pass to commit ourselves to everything and lose Christ in the process.

It really filtered into reality for me two nights ago, when I was carrying a bundle of laundry as well as a pair of earrings. As I walked, the earrings dropped to the floor. 

It was a moment of clarity. A moment of conviction. I didn't just drop a dirty shirt or sock - I dropped the earrings, the most valuable item I was trying to hold. The metaphor became a universal truth too real to ignore.

It's as if God was saying, "If you keep trying to carry everything, you won't be able to keep Me as a constant, as your Savior - and I'm more worthy of your attention than all the deadweight in your arms."

We commit to doing and being everything, to keeping our schedules booked by the minute, all to bolster our reputation and build our identity. But what we're carrying can craft our identity and solidify our pride, and if we insist on holding these things, we'll drop God by default. Our hearts can be a bit too crowded with plans and priorities to welcome in our Savior's grace.

Sometimes I think we forget who God is - we let Him get mixed in the pile with just another commitment, just another check on the to-do list, a devotion with a beginning and ending time so we can move onto the next. This sort of mindset makes us involved in everything and wholehearted about nothing. It instills in us a lukewarm energy rather than a fierce, channeled passion. And it blinds us from seeing God.

In Matthew 13:44, we read a parable about a man who finds a pearl. He searches in a field and unearths the beauty and value of the pearl - beauty and value so worthy of his all that he sells everything to buy it back.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."

Sometimes I think we're carrying so much that we don't even see the incredible treasure of grace, of constant fellowship, of joy, that He offers to pour out on us. But if we only knew! If we only understood the joy He will pour into us if we make the time to be poured into! If we would only tear our gaze from the dirty laundry and fix it on the promise Christ offers us, we wouldn't feel tempted to carry it all - we would know that to sacrifice everything for the Savior who died for us is wholly worth it, even if it costs us everything else.

Sometimes we seem to forget who we are too - human, and not able to do everything under the sun, even through Christ who gives us strength. It's also Christ who gives us rest, even commands it, and we're finite creatures. As C.S. Lewis said, "We are finite, and [God] will not call us everywhere to support every worthy cause." 

Something else we need to remember is that this doesn't mean that we make Jesus #1 on our priority list.

If pursuing Christ is a priority, that simply means that we read the Bible first thing in the morning or schedule time to go to church. It means that we grab the earrings first before we gather, yet again, everything else in our hands. Check it off the list and move onto the next.

Instead, Jesus calls us to make Him our center, the One everything revolves around, the epicenter of our hearts and the One we would sacrifice everything for. When everything leans on Christ, that's when we find peace.

Often it takes us reaching our tipping points to finally get down on our knees; but if this is a struggle you can relate to, take this as a reminder in advance to slow down and center your heart on Christ in all of your pursuits. I know I definitely will. He knows your life and His plan, and believe or not, those two mesh beautifully when we trust Him with our all. And if that means dropping a few socks from our laundry to hold onto the pearl earrings, I would say that's still pretty incredible.

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Holly Fohr

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