clothes lines and tables

matthew 19:13-30
"Little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.' When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there. Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, 'Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?' 'Why do you ask me about what is good?' Jesus replied. 'There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.' 'Which ones?' the man inquired. Jesus replied, 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.' 'All these I have kept,' the young man said. 'What do I still lack?' Jesus answered, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.' When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, 'Who then can be saved?' Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.' Peter answered him, 'We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?' Jesus said to them, 'I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.'"

I've heard this passage dozens upon dozens of times. I've heard many different thoughts and ideas and sermons and books and whatnot about this passage. Some say it's a metaphor. Some say it's real. Some say we should give some of our stuff away. Some say to give everything away.
So...who is correct.

Jesus is always right.

Last night I went to Evensong at Cornerstone University here in Grand Rapids, MI. Evensong is a college age worship event every Sunday night throughout the school year. I went there to catch up with friends before I leave for HI on Thursday. It was a great time. I got to see everyone I needed to see there and others I wasn't expecting to see. It was a lovely night.
Last night they had a quest speaker fellow. He was born in India, adopted into the states, and then returned to India as a missionary to orphans. He showed a brief video about things they did there.
As I watched, I felt my heart responding to what I saw. Those orphan children became more than pictures on a screen. They came alive in my heart. I realized that I could possibly be working with children like that for the next couple months of my life. The facts of poverty and hunger and starvation became a face of a little girl on the screen.
The speaker had my captive attention from then on. He told his story of when he first returned to India. He saw the poverty and hunger and told God that he would go back to the states, make lots of money, and then come back and take care of the children. Then a little girl next to him turned to her mom and said, "I'm hungry now." He realized in that moment that these children would not be alive in five years when he would return. They are hungry now.

They are hungry right now. And as I sat there and listened to the verse from Matthew 19, I heard God saying to me, "Julianne, go and sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. These children are hungry now."

And so I did. As best as I could.
This morning I gathered everything I owned and brought it out into my yard. I had every shirt and shorts and pants and whatever I owned. My books, lamp, alarm clock, mirror. My curling iron, my winter coat, my jewelry, my Bible. Everything. I set it out on my yard and stuck price tags on everything. Everything I owned now had a price on it. And I gave it to God.

As I sat there looking at all the things lying in my yard, I realized that I didn't need any of it. I didn't need anything but God. My family thought I was crazy and so did my boyfriend. I didn't understand. I thought these people who were closest to me would be those that would support me the most. I grew frustrated and discouraged. I knew this is what God wanted me to do, but I began to doubt myself as those around me tried to convince me that I was wrong, that I didn't hear from God, that I was doing this all on my own.
And then I realized that this was the opposition I had been waiting for. I knew the devil wanted to wear me down...and it had been working and I hadn't realized it. Since I decided to go on the YWAM DTS, I hadn't experienced any opposition at all. Everything had gone smoothly with the application process. But it was here and now that the devil was wearing me down, trying to get me to doubt what God had told me. I asked God for His strength and guidance. And then I waited.

My first customers pulled in my drive-way, looked out their van window, and drove away. My second customer came walking up my drive-way. The smoke from his pipe curled in the air around my things lying in the sun. He looked around a bit, picked up my machete, commented on the sheaf, and turned and walked away. And finally after several hours of waiting, my third customer drove up in her van. She walked around my items, looking through all my clothes. I watched and waited. She selected a t-shirt and continued to walk around. She picked up a half used bottle of perfume. She purchased both those two items and still looked around. She also ended up buying a couple bath rugs from my dorm last year. And then she left. And that was it.

I received $10 from that women. Another $10 from my friend Chelsie who came to sit with my at my sale and took home a scarf with her. A couple dollars from my little brothers and sisters. And $10 from myself because I bought my own dress.

Everything I owned was lying in my yard. I packed it all up and put it in the garage for the night. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow. But as I looked at the price tags...I realized that my life had a price.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 tells me that I was bought at a price. I have value and worth. Christ gave His everything for me. And I don't need anything but Him.

So...I only sold like 5 things. But I know I did what God wanted me to do. I am willing to give up everything for the Man who gave up His life for me.

New Post

And thus the goodbyes begin.

Hello, my name is Julianne Lanning. I am 19 years old. My life as I once knew it is about to become completely different.

I am about to leave my family and my house and my friends and everything else that I am used to. I'm going to leave.

I suppose this blog is going to be about my travels or adventures or whatever else I may encounter while gone. Or maybe it'll be about me and how I'm changing. Or...maybe something else. Something greater than I could imagine. I suppose we'll see.

It was nice to meet you.

And thus the goodbyes begin.