Don't Walk Away
By Pastor Justin Cooper
There is a line in that story I cannot get past. After Jesus tells the rich young ruler what he needs to do — after the invitation is extended, the door is open, eternal life is right there in front of him — the Bible says he "went away sorrowful."
He came running. And he left walking. Away.
That image stays with me. Because I've seen it more times than I can count — in church, in hospital rooms, in conversations on front porches and parking lots. Someone who knows they need to be saved. Someone who came looking. And then something pulls them back, and they leave without what they came for.
I want to speak directly to that "something" today. Because it is different for everyone — and it is always smaller than what you're trading it for.
For that young man, it was money. Not the money itself — the love of it. He valued what he had accumulated more than he valued his own soul.
"It's not money that kept him from being saved. It's the fact that he loved his money more than he cared for his soul."
Pastor Justin Cooper
Gospel Light Baptist Church
For you and me, it might not be money at all. It might be pride — not wanting to walk forward and admit what everyone already knows. It might be a relationship you're not ready to give up. It might be that you've been down this road before and you feel embarrassed to try again. It might be that you're waiting for the right moment, the right feeling, the right circumstances.
I'll tell you what I know: the right moment is right now. God sets appointments. And you do not know when yours is.
Here's the word that carries the whole weight of this message. Look at Matthew 19 verse 26 with me:
"With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."
— Matthew 19:26
The disciples heard Jesus's words about the rich man and said, "Who then can be saved?" They were staggered. If someone with that much going for him couldn't do it — what hope is there for the rest of us?
And the answer is this: you can't save yourself. You never could. But God can save you. He can save from the uttermost to the uttermost. It doesn't matter what you've done, how long you've waited, or how many times you've walked away before.
It doesn't matter the sin.
It doesn't matter the record.
If you will come, He will save you.
Here's what I want you to do today — and I mean today, not someday: identify the "something." The thing between you and that decision. Name it. Write it down if you have to. And then ask yourself honestly — is this worth more than eternity? Is whatever I'm holding onto really worth trading forever for?
Whatever it is, let it go. And come.
Pray This Out Loud
"Lord, I don't want to be the person who came close and walked away. I know what's been standing between us — and today, I'm letting it go. I'm coming to You exactly as I am. I believe You died for my sin and rose again. I'm not trusting in anything else — not my church attendance, not my good name, not my past attempts. Just You. Save me. And I thank You that with You, all things are possible. Amen."
Reflection Question
What is the one thing — be honest — that has kept you from fully surrendering to Christ? What would it look like to set that thing down today and come to Him with empty hands?
Gospel Light Baptist Church | Walkertown, NC | Unsubscribe
