One of the saddest passages in all literature is the story of the Rich Young Man who missed one of the great opportunities of history, and
…went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions (Matthew 19:22).
This is really the story of mankind in general. We reject the salvation that Jesus offers us “our chance of finding God” because we ” have great possessions,”; not so much that we are very rich in terms of money, for indeed most people are not, but because we have great possessions in the way of preconceived ideas; confidence in our own judgment, and in the ideas with which we happen to be familiar. We have pride, born of academic distinction; sentimental or material attachment to institutions and organizations; habits of life that we have no desire to renounce; concern for human respect; or perhaps fear of public ridicule. And these possessions keep us chained to the rock of suffering that is our exile from God.
The poor in spirit suffer from none of these embarrassments, either because they never had them, or because they have risen above them on the tide of spiritual understanding.
What “possessions” are keeping us from “finding God”? What attitudes, desires, actions or positions are locking us out of God’s garden? Are they worth the loss of true communion with God? Would we trade peace on this plane and eternal salvation in the next plane to protect and pursue the “possessions” in which we place so much value?
Hopefully, the answer to all these questions points us toward divesting ourselves of that which denies and obstructs the presence of God in our lives. Yes, it will be one the most difficult undertakings to which we could aspire. And Yes, it will free us from the prison of possessions, postures and positions that chain us to doubt, fear and despair. It will break down the barriers to our gardens that we have erected and allow us to live each day in peace, hope and love.
Whatever comfort, gratification and affirmation we receive from our possessions; clinging to them denies us all the joy, assurance, faith and life that submission to God’s word guarantees to us. We can cling to our jewelry, pride and passions as our spiritual Titanic sinks, or we can shed all those chains and get into God’s life raft. While it may seem a stark comparison, the truth is that our decision will be a life and death choice.
Will we choose to die with our possessions, pride and positions intact, or to live forever according to God’s will? Will we rise above that which assures our misery here and our death in the hereafter? It is this writer’s prayer that each of us will abandon the possessions that lock us out of our gardens, and that each of us will choose to live in the beauty and peace of our gardens here and with God forever in the hereafter.
Shedding possessions,
Z gardener
Good Morning Garden 
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