Will You Walk Away From An Empty Table?

Set before us, in life, is an empty table. As we approach it, we bring numerous weights, burdens, cares, bad habits, wrong priorities, and sinful thinking. As we sit there, through life, we have opportunities to unload all of the negative baggage we came with.

We are offered a gift, that if received in it's fullest, will replace all of the shame, guilt and regret; with love, peace and joy.

Why, when the choice is so clear, do we hesitate to unburden ourselves? Why do we insist on hanging onto a special burden, a sinful habit, a heavy load of guilt, or the weight of regret?

We are given the promise of an "abundant life" if we so choose. We are told to cast all of our cares at the feet of Jesus. We are taught that He cares for us, the He intercedes for us, the He loves us, and that He died in our place so that we could live free of sin and guilt. He provided the "unloading table" where the weight of the world can be discarded.

We can walk away from our table with the table loaded with all of the negative aspects of sinful human life or we can walk away from an empty table and take them all with us.

Lay your burdens down. Walk away, free! Leave a pile of crap on your table that you never go back for or look back at. Never desire the things left behind but relish in the freedom and light that you now enjoy.

Do not carry away, regret. Regret of the past is as harmful to our walk as worry about the future. The reason to not carry it away, is not because you do not care, but because you took the steps to avoid the opportunity for future regret. Look around you. Where do you find yourself? What is going on in the lives of those around you that you believe the Lord is leading you to step out of your comfort zone and risk something? What effort should you be making for another? What care should you be offering or giving to help someone? Who should you be keeping in tough with? Who needs to know that you love them? How much will a hug mean to a lonely person?

This is a time for a sensitive inventory of your personal life. You can listen to the Holy Spirit and follow the leading or you can put walls up and protect yourself. If you choose the latter, you open the door to a load of regret in the future.