Craig Clouston

 Cleansed in Surrender

June 19

“Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything, and

followed him.

Luke 5:27–28

He waved good-bye to his little girl as his estranged wife drove away. As her

SUV vanished from sight, his shoulders sagged and his head fell toward his

chest. The weight of his circumstances settled heavily as he sensed his world

crumbling.

He’d brought this upon himself, but that didn’t make the heartache any

less painful. They’d been through this before: him getting drunk and losing

control, she taking their daughter and staying at her sister’s for a few days. Then

her resolve would melt under his charismatic charm, and they would live in

fragility, awaiting the next incident. Until now. 

He had crossed a line even she wouldn’t tolerate. This was the final good-bye. Children’s services and attorneys would determine how often he would or wouldn’t see his daughter now.

It didn’t take a psychologist to see his regret was genuine; he was truly

sorry for his actions. But previous pain hadn’t been enough to bring about

lasting change. Turning back into his now empty house, he realized it was no

longer a home.

As his wife’s parting words echoed in his head, he fell to his knees seek-

ing God’s intervention. “If you would give God as much attention as you give

that bottle, He could show you who you truly are. Unless you give Him control,

you’ll always struggle with alcohol.”

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To worry and heartache, we give consideration; pain we mostly obey. And

yet, even agonizing pain sometimes isn’t enough of a motivator to rid us of

unwanted behavior. For that there is only one cure: the love and grace of Jesus

Christ.

Matthew (Levi) was a tax collector, a publican, one of the vilest of sin-

ners, taxing unscrupulously every person coming to Capernaum. Because of his

Roman licensure, Matthew was considered a traitor by the Jews. When Jesus

showed up, he must have felt so dirty. But when the Master said, “Follow Me,”

the cleansing was complete and immediate. Matthew was changed forever.

There is nothing that does not fall under the grace of our Savior. His

simple forgiveness comes in one two-word supplication: “Follow Me.” It only

requires our surrender. He promises to do the cleansing.

Prayer

“Help me, Lord! Amen.”