Renouncing All
Scripture: “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14.33 ESV)
Main Point: Jesus demands not partial commitment but total renunciation of everything we have, a demand that drives us to find our all in Him.
This is perhaps the most challenging verse in our passage. Jesus doesn’t ask for a tithe of our possessions or a portion of our devotion. He demands that we renounce “all” that we have. Everything. Complete divestment. Total surrender.
But what does it mean to “renounce all”? It means releasing our grip on everything we think gives us security, identity, or worth. It means acknowledging that everything we have—our possessions, our relationships, our abilities, our achievements—belongs to God and is held by us only as stewards.
This renunciation isn’t about becoming physically poor or abandoning all earthly responsibilities. Rather, it’s about holding everything with open hands, ready to release whatever God asks us to release, ready to use whatever He asks us to use for His kingdom.
The shocking truth is that when we try to keep our lives by holding tightly to what we have, we actually lose them. But when we lose our lives by surrendering all to Christ, we find true life—life that cannot be taken away, life that satisfies completely, life that lasts forever.
Mary sang that God “has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty” (Luke 1:53). When we renounce all and come to God empty-handed, we discover that He fills us with good things beyond imagination. When we come to Him thinking we’re rich in ourselves, we go away empty.
Reflection:
Reflect on how holding everything with open hands leads to true security. What are you holding too tightly? How does releasing everything to God’s control lead to greater joy? What is God asking you to hold more loosely in this season?
Prayer:
Gracious Lord, help me hold all things loosely and fill my empty hands with Your eternal treasures. Through Christ our Lord. AMEN.
Responses