Many moons later, Jesus was shifting his movement directly toward Jerusalem – with all that that meant – and the number of devotees tapered off a bit (Luke 9:51-62). Some of those invited to follow Jesus said they would love to, but probably not if it meant giving up creature comforts that we become very accustomed to. Another invitee asked if he could first bury his father. Sounds reasonable until you read up on it and discover that the father was in good health. The person declining the invitation was basically saying, I will follow you some day in the distant future, but not now. It can wait until much later. Yet another person invited by Jesus to follow him asked if he could say goodbye to his family. No harm in that, right? Right, until you do some homework and uncover what was really being said: let me have one last hoorah, one last moment of the good life before I let it all go and follow you into untold misery…
Jesus was shining a spotlight on a critical question: is Jesus worth our utmost devotion, our primary allegiance, above all other concerns? Is Jesus a step up toward life at its best or a sacrifice of the good life for a much-less-than-desirable existence?
Apparently for Jesus, this was really the central question. Does Jesus warrant the first place in our lives?
One thing I find interesting is that by our standards, what the people back in Jesus’ day were giving up doesn’t seem like much. We would qualify their daily life as roughing it at best, and more likely envision an example of extreme poverty. It’s not like they were giving up what we would have to give up. If they had to give up what we are called to give up, Jesus would have had far fewer followers, right? After all, we tell ourselves, the world has changed, and Jesus certainly would not require the same level of allegiance or commitment or sacrifice today as he did then. The reality, however, is that nothing has changed. The call to follow Christ is no less costly or compelling than ever before. If we really push ourselves into the historical context, their “yes” to Jesus was far more costly because they lived under Roman authority that did not tolerate insurrection-sounding people of faith. We struggle to appreciate this from our country where we are free to express our beliefs without fear of the sword.
What, then, does this look like in daily life? The Apostle Paul had a thing or two to say about this in his letter to the conflict-laden church in Galatia (Gal. 5:1, 13-25). The situation there was very relevant to our own. There was a group of new gung-ho Jesus followers who were being indoctrinated by well-meaning but off-base Jewish Christians. These Judaizers, as we identify them now, basically told these new, non-Jewish Christians that if they really wanted to follow Christ, they basically had to be devoted Jews as well. This meant keeping the Law, which for the Judaizers actually meant embracing a form of legalism. Paul saw this legalistic rule following as incongruent with what Jesus taught. His instruction was to let the Holy Spirit guide their lives. But this came at a price! Letting God significantly influence our lifestyle is tough, because our personal hard-drives have been seriously compromised and bogged down by all manner of malware, bots, and viruses we’ve picked up from the world around us. Paul instructs them (and us) to become intimately aware of what is happening in our lives that is contrary to the Way of Jesus. He urges his readers to let go of destructive behaviors like sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and the list goes on and on. Instead, he says that when we give those things up and follow the Way of Jesus (which is the Way the Holy Spirit guides), fruit will be produced in our lives: love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These fruits come as a byproduct of allowing the Spirit to lead us. That is where our choice and commitment make the difference. And it requires more than a generalized yes – it requires a strategic, costly yes as well.
Elisha fully understood that to follow Elijah meant he was no longer going to need his oxen. Jesus was calling his followers to the same thing – leave behind what you thought was the way to life and invest yourself into my Way – God’s Way – fully. Like Cortes burning his ships after landing on the Yucatan peninsula – no turning back – Jesus was calling for the same: all in.
Some of you today are there – ready to say yes. But it is more than a generalized, emotional affirmation. The yes is a dedication to a different way of life. To be guided by the Holy Spirit requires new skills and new patterns that enable you to hear the Spirit and respond. Your initial yes needs to be followed up by some other logical yeses.
- Yes to a new order of life. Time to read the Bible and books that help you think through the Way of Jesus means you are departing from other things that you would normally be doing. Time to pray and listen beyond what you do while driving or showering or kickboxing or marshmallow toasting or nail clipping, or… If you don’t say yes to personal time devoted to fostering your relationship with God, which requires burning a boat or oxen or two, you simply will not know when the Holy Spirit speaks.
- Yes to consistent refueling. Something happens when we gather together for worship that simply cannot happen all by ourselves. There is a Presence that shows up in the gathered community that TV church cannot provide. We need this regularly and consistently. When this becomes a low-priority on our calendar, so does God. Say yes to regular worship, which means saying no to less important things.
- Yes to community. We are blind when we are alone. We cannot see our biases, our prejudices, our ugly sides. We don’t see our beautiful sides, either. We need community to help us grow, to encourage us where God is moving us, and to give us the opportunity to love others. But saying yes to community means saying no to lesser things.
- Yes to serving. Serving is spiritual. Serving is a conduit the Holy Spirit uses to shape us fast and deep. When we enter into a service opportunity with the attitude of how can I follow you here and how can I grow in this, amazing things happen. But, again, to say yes to serving in any capacity means saying no to lesser commitments.
- Yes to sacrifice. Communion is one of two sacred acts Jesus commanded us to repeat over and over again (the other is baptism). Communion is a reminder of what baptism represents: commitment to Christ. When we take communion, we say once again to God, we’re all in. We say yes knowing that personal sacrifice is required and critical in our walk with God and in seeing through what God wants done in the world.
May you say yes to the invitation to follow Christ, with all of its subsequent yeses that follow, so that you may have a life that produces incredible fruit for you and all you touch.
Think about this…
To commit to following Jesus is to commit myself to a lifelong journey of being led where Jesus wants me to go and not necessarily where I want to go. This situation often causes opposition within myself. Jesus may call me to do what I do not normally and easily do. Jesus may ask me to wait or remain silent when I wish to speak or move on. In each of these cases I experience opposition within to what Jesus calls me to do and to be. Reuben P. Job
How has this been true of your experience with God?
But it is realistic to expect God’s help in living an authentic and joyful life as a Christian. To daily declare our love for God and neighbor, to give ourselves as fully as we can to God, and to ask for God’s help in living an authentic life of faith is to be prepared to meet any and all opposition. Once we have given all of life to God, we have nothing to lose. We have everything because God has us. – Reuben P. Job
How do we have everything because God has us? What are you sensing God calling you to give over to God so that you might gain more of the life you are called to live?
Check out this video (click here) featuring Matthew West’ song, My Own Little World. How do you relate to it?
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