Let Go Like Jesus

If you went on a YouthWorks trip this summer, you heard all about how Jesus demonstrated how to live, love and serve. At home, we hope you’ll keep thinking about ways you can live like Jesus every day! That’s why, each Thursday for 5 weeks, we’ll post a new reflection helping you apply the same ideas you heard on your mission trip to your everyday life back home.

 

I once took a mental snapshot of this memorable moment:

 

My high school basketball coach is sitting across the court from the cheering section. A few seats away from him, the varsity team is leaning intently into the game as players sprint past. The game is underway to the tune of the crowd’s cheers and the squeak of gym shoes on glossy wood floor.

 

Of all the coaches I’ve ever had, Gregg is one of my favorites. Calm yet passionate, he loves basketball and is a fantastic coach – his players believe that, and the stats back up that belief. It is clear that basketball is one of Gregg’s great passions. The only people, it seems, who are not excited about Gregg coaching are his two little boys. As far as they are concerned, Dad’s time with basketball directly impacts their time with Dad, negatively. And they let him know it, sometimes crying when he has left for practices or games. I can imagine family life is sometimes tough to balance with upholding an incredible coaching legacy.

 

It has been two years since I was on the team. Now, a college student, I sit with some friends at one of the games. Across the court the team is leaning in and, a few seats away from the team, is Gregg. The reason I remember this moment so well is because Gregg isn’t just a few seats away from the team; he is a few seats behind them. And as the team is leaning into the game, Gregg is leaning down to say something to his two boys sitting on one side, his wife on the other. This basketball season, Gregg let go of the title of Coach to better embrace the title of Dad.

 

Gregg was able to love his family well because he was willing to let go of something else. Loving others often requires us to give up or let go of something. This next story about letting go is one you’ve probably heard many times, but this time, as you read, think about what Jesus had to let go.

Read Luke 2:1–12.

This story of Jesus’ birth reminds me of children dressed as shepherds, of Christmas carols and of lights on the tree. It also makes me think of Christmas gifts, which is appropriate since Jesus was the ultimate gift to us! We often hear about how meaningful it is to receive the gift of Jesus, but take a moment to think about what it cost Jesus to give himself as a gift.

 

God and Jesus are one. Jesus was there at the beginning of Creation and will be there at the end of time. As God, Jesus has absolute power, authority and strength. In the Bible it talks about Jesus ruling on a heavenly throne. Although Jesus has all of God’s authority and power, he wanted people to know him personally. Jesus wanted to be among his people. And Jesus wanted to save his people from the sin and brokenness in their lives. And he couldn’t do that from a heavenly throne. So here’s what Jesus did: He let go of the perks and privileges of being God and came to earth to live among his people, to show us how to live well and to give up his life to save ours. Jesus came as a helpless baby – a commoner.

 

This paraphrase of Philippians 2:5–8 in the The Message says it pretty well. Read it slowly. Carefully:

 

“Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death – and the worst kind of death at that – a crucifixion.”

 

If Jesus had stayed on his throne in heaven, his power and status would have kept him from fully loving us. But Jesus let go of that power to come to earth, become human, suffer, and even die and rise from the dead, to fully love us. It certainly could not have been easy for Jesus to let go, but he did it for us… for you!

 

By letting go, Jesus was once again being the Demo that we can follow. Of course, in coming to earth as a baby, Jesus was doing a lot of things we can’t do! But one thing we can do is let go.

 

Gregg, my high school basketball coach, understood that loving his family well was more important than his passion for basketball. To be clear, there is nothing wrong with basketball – just as there is nothing wrong with God’s power and authority – but Gregg followed Jesus’ example of letting go of something that was keeping him from loving others more fully.

 

You can let go too. What you need to let go of depends on how you answer this question:

What’s keeping you from loving
God and others better?

Ask me that question any day of the week, and I’ll be able to think of something I need to let go. Maybe some of my recent answers will help you think about what yours might be:

 

Busyness. Sometimes I get so busy I don’t slow down enough to really care for another person, or to spend enough time focusing on my relationship with God. I don’t stop like Jesus did with the blind men. I need to do that more and let go of trying to find significance in being busy.

 

Anger. It’s surprising how quickly I can get irritated with others. I have time and again had to ask God to help me forgive someone so I didn’t dwell on frustration. It’s amazing how often God has answered that prayer by allowing me to let go of my anger.

 

Media. Radio, podcasts, TV, Netflix and Facebook: In themselves, these things aren’t bad. But sometimes they’ve taken the place of serving others or quiet conversation with God. Turning down the radio or closing my laptop have often been a way of letting go of something I like to clear space for someone God is inviting me to love.

 

Pride. I often care too much about how others see me. It is pretty hard to fully care about someone else when I am so busy caring about myself! Pride is something I have to let go of daily to better love others.

 

I could go on… easily. But it’s your turn. As you consider what is standing between you and your love for others and for God, take another look at Jesus’ words to his disciples:

“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John 13:15)

Jesus demonstrated how to let go in order to love us more deeply. That means Jesus let nothing get in the way of his deep love for you. So what’s keeping your love from reaching its full potential? What is Jesus inviting you to let go in order to love God and others more fully?

 

CONSIDER…

What is one thing that gets in the way of your love for others?

What is one thing that gets in the way of your love for God?

What are a couple things you can let go this week to better love God and others? What are some tangible ways you will do that?

Ask God for strength to let some things go. Ask one friend to keep you accountable to letting go of those things.

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Sam Townsend helps write training, programming and marketing materials for YouthWorks mission trips. When he isn’t hanging around teenagers at church or digging into seminary homework, he is generally looking for a good conversation and a hole-in-the-wall restaurant to have it in. Sam still considers his first couple summers working for YouthWorks in Virginia and Pennsylvania communities some of the most transformative times of his life.