March 22, 1994
At Priests' Residence Chapel After Mass
Jesus: That is the point. I am not going to ask you to let go of something that you don't care about! I want you to surrender that which is very dear to you. "Oh, but," you say, "Lord, I like that," and I say, yes, I know. Do you choose Me above that? I want that which you want to hold on to. That is what keeps you from union with Me. To love Me, you must die to yourself.
You let go of bits and pieces you are willing to give up. This is not love. You decide, "I don't want this very much, Lord, so I give it to you." I want that which you will not let go of. The more closed your arms are, holding on to something, the less free you are. Total freedom is total surrender to Me. Are you willing to let go of that which I ask this day?
Your surrender is similar to how you develop trust. You trust a step at a time. You grow in your trust of Me by trusting, one step at a time. You grow in union with Me by surrendering a step at a time. Today I ask you for that which is most dear to you, only to find out tomorrow you were attached to something else. This is love--to lay down your life for Me. Would you give to Me that which you hold on to? What I am asking will take a little sacrifice, but you hold on to it because you love it.
To love Me is to put Me first. It may seem little to you, but you love it so much you don't want to let go. This is keeping you from union with Me today. I ask you today for this little part of yourself. You say, "Oh, Lord, but I really want that." I know you do. That is what is keeping you from being free to love Me.
Love gives. I gave you My life for greatest love of you. I held back not one drop of blood, one beat of My heart. I gave you everything. I stretched My arms wide. I hung in midair. I had nothing I held on to. I showed you the way to surrender and love. I am not asking for everything. I am asking you to climb one step today. The Way of the Cross was hard. The way to Me is for you to take that step today. I loved you to My death. I showed you the way. My body hung, My Blood was spent, My heart beat no more--and I did this for love of you!
I did the will of The Father to die for You! He loved you so much He sent His only Son. My mother suffered so in agony to watch her precious child die. There was no holding back. In total surrender, I died for love of You!
What do you hold on to? How can you love Me more? I love you with the most ardent on-fire love, unconditionally. I loved you this way and I love you this way this day.
Our love affair waits. You keep our love affair from growing by what you hold on to that is worldly, by what the self demands. Union with Me is accomplished by how you render yourself selfless.
Love gives. I showed you the way. I gave My life for you. If you want to love Me, surrender yourself. Give up this day that which I ask you. I want that which is precious to you. When you give such a gift is when our love will grow. Our love affair depends on you.
Copyright
© 1996 Shepherds of Christ.