There are a lot of things that I remember fondly from my childhood. Among them are memories of family dinners. I always looked forward to those times gathered around the table, but I especially looked forward to the home cooked fried chicken that mom would make. One of the things that we would do is to find the wishbone from that chicken and two of us would pull in opposite directions to see who would get the long side and get to make a wish. 

I was reminded of that little tradition a few days ago when I saw a billboard that had the picture of a man hanging from the edge of a cliff with one hand while another giant hand was positioned directly below him. The caption on the sign read, “Let go. Jesus will catch you.” Now, you might be wondering how that billboard could remind someone of pulling apart the wishbone of a chicken. That is a great question. Thank you for asking.

The billboard reminded me of the way in which we often have a desire to follow Jesus, but are reluctant to let go of things that hinder our pursuit of that goal. Perhaps it is a habit. Perhaps it is a goal. Perhaps it is our desire to maintain control. Maybe it is a disordered love; love of money, or pleasure, or position. Maybe it is our anger, a grudge, or a judgmental attitude. The list could go on and on. 

In Mark 10 we meet a young man who is reluctant to let go. 

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”  Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:17-22)

Jesus calls his followers to let go of everything else and follow him whole heartedly. He does this not because he is a narcissistic control freak, but because he wants what is best for us.  He wants to be with us. He wants us to trust him enough to let go of our need for control and live for him so that can happen. But too often we are reluctant to let go of the things that keep us from following him the way he wants. We feel pulled in opposite directions, and much like that wishbone we feel as if we may snap in two. 

The good news for us is that we can choose. We are not helpless. We can make a wish to follow Jesus with all that we have. We also know that just wishing for that to happen will not make it so. We have to be constantly attentive to those things that tend to hinder our pursuit of the good, because doing so is something that is an ongoing process. The more attention that we give to making that wish a reality, the easier it may become, but it is something that we will continue to do throughout our lives. There is  more good news. If we will be attentive and make the effort to let go of everything else and hold on to Jesus, he has promised to help make that wish come true.  

A good way to maintain our focus and to be attentive to making our wish of being totally devoted to Jesus might be to begin each day with a simple prayer. “Lord, I want nothing more than to be your person. I want to hold on to you and live the way you direct me. Please help me today to let go of those things that hinder whole-hearted pursuit of the life to which you have called me.” Then give attention each day to holding on to the good and letting go of everything else. May God bless us as we pursue our wish of being his people.