Follow Me

Luke 9:57-62

Reading this short passage I am left to wonder: what hinders me from following Christ?

The three men in the story all make great commitments, and at first they appear to be very promising! Jesus' responses break the spell though, and I had to turn to 1 Samuel 16:7 to understand more fully:

'...for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.'

What then of the commitments made by the three men? What did Jesus see that I can't?

1. Man number 1 - he was willing to go 'wherever.' Geographically, perhaps. I don't think he was willing to leave his home comforts behind him when it meant he too would have nowhere to lay his head.
2. Man number 2 - there was a job he prefered to do rather than proclaim the Kingdom of God - he was more concerned about the dead, the unbeliever, than God's gift of eternal life.
3. Man number 3 - he didn't really want to let go. Like the Israelites who wanted to return to their slavery in Egypt, he wanted to go back.

When I consider my commitement to Christ, I see a little bit of all three men in me. I'm not truly willing to leave my comfort zone. There are always jobs to be done. The old life was fun.

God, help me to walk your way.