Don't settle for less!

It is a fact that what we trust in, what we worship, what we hold most dear defines who we are! For the rich young ruler of Matthew 19 the thing that defined him was his money. He had a lot of it and this abundance was his security - his trust - really his functional god. Jesus tried to point this out to him, to show him the folly of being defined by something that is so fleeting, that is inanimate, that really has no ability to save him and give him the fullness of life that his soul craved. But the rich young ruler walked away, under the delusion, that his money would give him what he needed most. He didn't realize what he was giving up because he was grasping his money.
And what was he giving up? He was giving up the God so wonderfully portrayed in the prayer of Nehemiah 9. He was giving up the God who made the heavens and the earth and the seas and all that is in them. He was giving up the One who preserves all that He has made. He was giving up the One who is a faithful guide, true to His promises, almighty to save from life's most challenging circumstances. He was giving up on the One who showed Himself over and over to be "ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love". Can any of that be said of money or any other earthly thing?
That may be why when the people portrayed in Acts 19 came to understand the person of Jesus Christ, they were ready to let other things go. They came confessing their sin - the folly of letting other things define them, and they, perhaps in a symbolic act, burned the books which amounted to a great price, showing by this they had found something of greater, enduring value.
I think it is good for all of us to ask the question, "In what am I trusting? In what am I finding my value? What brings definition to my life?" And if upon reflection I find anything other than Christ to be the answer, it is time to confess that folly, and to lay those things I have been secretly treasuring in my heart at the altar to be burned. There is only one good that can fill our lives, giving them meaning and purpose and definition, and that good is Christ. Don't trade Him in for lesser things? Embrace the One who is Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, and Guide. May God grant us grace to do so today!