Follow Jesus. That’s it. So simple, right? Not so easy to do.
I want each of you to be serious about Following Jesus. This is message is derived from Luke 9:57-62.
I want each of you to be serious about Following Jesus. This is message is derived from Luke 9:57-62.
As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
When I first read this, I thought to myself “Why is Jesus being so hard-hearted? Why does He not care?” The first man that Jesus encountered in this story came to Jesus and was very enthusiastic about following Jesus WHEREVER HE WENT. So why did Jesus crush his dreams? This really confused me the first time I read it but as I thought more about Jesus’ response it made more sense. Jesus is just telling the first man that following Jesus is not easy, sometimes He doesn’t even have a place to sleep. As I read about the second man I thought about his excuse and applied it to mine own life. “Lord, first let me...(you fill in the blank)” Think about how many times we do that. When was that last time Jesus asked you to do something? Did you Follow Him? Or did you come up with an excuse? When I read about the third man’s excuse I wondered why Jesus hated families. But that is not what this verse is implying. Jesus is saying here to love Him SO much that all the other people you love in this life not even compare to the love that you have for Jesus. Make Jesus #1 in your life and have there not to even be a second place.
Did these men end up following Jesus or was the cost too great for them? Is the cost too great for you? If you have to give up so much for Jesus, what is the reason for following Jesus? Compare what these men would have given up for Jesus for the things that Jesus gave up for you and me. Jesus gave up EVERYTHING for you why not give up a little for Him?
Now I want to think about the three men. Did they follow Jesus or not? What if they did not follow Jesus? What did they miss out on? But what if they did follow Jesus. Think of all the adventures they would have went on with Jesus and all the miracles that they could have witnesses. Let us now relate this to our lives. Each of us has a choice to make and to choose is not to have chosen. What will you do? Is following Jesus too much for you? Or are you willing to surrender and follow. You will never know what kind of adventures you will have with Jesus until you decide to Follow Him.
<- - Follow Jesus. Imagine Him as the mother duck and we as the ducklings. Follow Him WHEREVER.
I can think of many times where it would have been easier for me if I didn’t follow Jesus but I would have missed out on many, many adventures and many, many lessons to be learned. These adventures were scary and, honestly, I didn’t know why I was going but I knew God was with me and wouldn’t leave me. I love the promise that Jesus makes in Isaiah 41: 13
“For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear: I will help you.”
It is easy to think about adventures being the only thing we need to follow Jesus in but that is not true. We need to follow Jesus in our everyday lives. Follow Jesus in everything you do even if that is just sitting at home or if that is going on an adventure. Remember, Jesus is with you WHEREVER you are.
“I will follow you Lord...” Luke 9:60 ---> Are you ready to Follow Jesus?
