Hang On and Let Go




Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. Matt 13:47-48 (NIV)

Not too long ago, someone told me to "hang on" concerning a difficult situation and then later, in the same conversation, counseled me to "let go." I thought of that conversation as I read this passage from Matthew 13.

Can’t you see it? Fisherman pulling in a loaded net, muscles bulging and backs straining with the effort. The net is heaped with both good and bad: an old shoe, strands of seaweed, broken bobbers, seashells, driftwood, and piles of squirming fish.

Isn’t this a picture of our lives? We cast our nets into the minutes of our days and hope for a good catch. It’s hard work pulling in the net, weighted down as it is with the myriad choices. Then we begin the tedious task of sorting the catch, separating the good things to keep and casting aside the undesirable. It’s time consuming, but necessary. After all, our lives only hold so much. If we hang onto everything, we’ll become like the infamous garbage houses where even a scrap of paper seems too precious to discard but the resulting chaos makes the entire house unsalvageable.

We must hang on to the precious things and people we love most and let the rest go—a few good things as well as the trash, things we have neither time nor energy to do justice. And while we're at it, discarding the grudges, petty sins and disappointments while hanging on to the good memories, the grace God extends, and the many blessings for which we are thankful.

It happens over and over. We've all done it. Some jobs or hobbies discarded while others pursued and improved upon. Sometimes God wrenches things or situations from our clutched hands. That’s the hard way. The smarter way is to look over that net—to hang onto the most precious and toss away the rest.

It’s a continual sifting of goals and priorities. The hanging on and letting go. It’s how we stay balanced in a crazy world.

Dear Lord, help us to set wise priorities. Teach us to both hang on and let go in the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.