In this weeks reading we meet three would be followers of Jesus Christ. As I read about the “followers” I saw myself. I saw how I have been a “would be follower”. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and stopped in Samaria. They weren’t too kind to him but that didn’t stop him. He was focused on getting to Jerusalem to fulfill the prophecy. Him and the disciples moved on and went to another city. In that city Jesus met the first of three men.
The first man says “I will follow thee” to Jesus. Jesus replies “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” I read that a few times and I finally understood what Jesus was saying to this man. He was letting him know that if you are asking to follow me you will have to let go of the things that have kept you home. Let go of all the things that have kept you in the hole of complacency or that nest of luke warm following. To be a follower of Jesus there is no comfortable place to rest. You will have to work around the clock. How true is that?? My experience as a Christian has been filled with work. I work at keeping my faith strong. I work at loving all people. I work at being Christ-like. It doesn’t come naturally to me. I work at it daily. Some days are better than other but there really is no rest. No nest for my faith...
Soon after, Jesus meets another man and says “follow me”. This time Jesus tells the would be follower to follow him. A little different than the first but I can relate to this as well. This would be follower tells Jesus that his father needs to be buried instead of following. Jesus’s response was simple. “Let the dead bury their own” At first that seems harsh but I get it. There have been many times in my life when I have felt that I was being told to follow Jesus and trust my faith. Not verbally, but a strong urge to just let go and trust Jesus. I haven’t always done done it.. but I do get the urge. How many excuses or reasons can you come up with to avoid doing what God wants?? We all have done it. We give Jesus 90 percent but not the 100. We sort of give it our all but there is always some excuse. In this case Jesus was saying... no excuses. If I tell you to follow me it’s not a question. You just follow.
The third would be follower says to Jesus “I will follow thee BUT I need to say goodbye to everyone at my house. Once again Jesus replies sharply. He says that “No man putting his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Well, this was my favorite interaction of Jesus with the three followers. First, the would be follower offers to follow Jesus. He basically volunteered but, he wanted to follow Jesus when he was ready. I totally understood that. I’ve done it myself. There have been times when I wanted my faith to work on my terms. I wanted my faith to be on standby. Well... Jesus felt differently back then and I’m sure he feels differently now. His response was clear. If you want to follow me you are going to work. You are going to drop all the excuses and follow my lead. Don’t look backwards. We are going forward together but NOW. Not when its convenient for you.
I have been all three of the followers at some point in my life. Maybe you have too... I know that my faith isn’t perfect. I really don’t think it’s supposed to be perfect. I do know that Gods Grace is perfect. I trust that The Grace of God is there when we are being a would be followers. Today I ask... when you feel the urge to follow ... what will you do??
The first man says “I will follow thee” to Jesus. Jesus replies “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” I read that a few times and I finally understood what Jesus was saying to this man. He was letting him know that if you are asking to follow me you will have to let go of the things that have kept you home. Let go of all the things that have kept you in the hole of complacency or that nest of luke warm following. To be a follower of Jesus there is no comfortable place to rest. You will have to work around the clock. How true is that?? My experience as a Christian has been filled with work. I work at keeping my faith strong. I work at loving all people. I work at being Christ-like. It doesn’t come naturally to me. I work at it daily. Some days are better than other but there really is no rest. No nest for my faith...
Soon after, Jesus meets another man and says “follow me”. This time Jesus tells the would be follower to follow him. A little different than the first but I can relate to this as well. This would be follower tells Jesus that his father needs to be buried instead of following. Jesus’s response was simple. “Let the dead bury their own” At first that seems harsh but I get it. There have been many times in my life when I have felt that I was being told to follow Jesus and trust my faith. Not verbally, but a strong urge to just let go and trust Jesus. I haven’t always done done it.. but I do get the urge. How many excuses or reasons can you come up with to avoid doing what God wants?? We all have done it. We give Jesus 90 percent but not the 100. We sort of give it our all but there is always some excuse. In this case Jesus was saying... no excuses. If I tell you to follow me it’s not a question. You just follow.
The third would be follower says to Jesus “I will follow thee BUT I need to say goodbye to everyone at my house. Once again Jesus replies sharply. He says that “No man putting his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Well, this was my favorite interaction of Jesus with the three followers. First, the would be follower offers to follow Jesus. He basically volunteered but, he wanted to follow Jesus when he was ready. I totally understood that. I’ve done it myself. There have been times when I wanted my faith to work on my terms. I wanted my faith to be on standby. Well... Jesus felt differently back then and I’m sure he feels differently now. His response was clear. If you want to follow me you are going to work. You are going to drop all the excuses and follow my lead. Don’t look backwards. We are going forward together but NOW. Not when its convenient for you.
I have been all three of the followers at some point in my life. Maybe you have too... I know that my faith isn’t perfect. I really don’t think it’s supposed to be perfect. I do know that Gods Grace is perfect. I trust that The Grace of God is there when we are being a would be followers. Today I ask... when you feel the urge to follow ... what will you do??
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