I am a Jesus pusher!!! Everything else is a substitute, a replacement, a plastic misfit. I must not embrace my tradition instead of Him. If I do, I become like the Pharisees and Sadducees. Their automatic response to being confronted with truth was, “We have Abraham as our father,” (Matthew 3:9). John the Baptist called them to embrace Christ, the Messiah, who was present among them. They reverted back to their heritage.
What a small, superficial, merger was their heritage in comparison to the presence of the King. John the Baptist quickly pointed out that their heritage was reduced to the level of a hard stone in light of Christ (Matthew 3:9). Jesus was able to turn stones into the children of Abraham. What they had held onto as precious was insignificant in the presence of Jesus. If they insisted on clinging to their heritage instead of Christ, it would become an ax which would cut them down (Matthew 3:10). What they thought would save them turned into their destruction in the presence of Christ. They would end up chaff instead of wheat (Matthew 3:12). At harvest time, no farmer boasts about the abundance of his chaff. He thrills only in the wheat. The chaff is simply burned and forgotten.
I am Jesus pusher!!! I will allow Christ to burn all the chaff of my life. This will include everything I have depended upon outside of Him. I want Him to remove every item which makes me feel secure. I have depended upon my education, financial gain, talent, contacts, experiences, traditions, knowledge, and possessions. I renounce all of these and declare Him as my sole security. I am a Jesus pusher!!!