THE RASH COMMITMENT (Luke 9:57-58)
As Jesus was going along the road, someone said to Him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Isn't that the type of surrender Jesus wants from all of us? Yes, and no. Yes, He wants us to surrender ourselves. No, He doesn't want us to do it blindly, without thinking of the consequences.
The person who said that to Jesus, did not know that Jesus was headed to Calvary. That He was going to receive a cross before a crown. Jesus wanted the would be follower to understand what commitment to Him really meant. "The foxes have holes and the birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."
This journey with Jesus will not be an easy one. Like the words of this hymn: "Must Jesus bear the cross alone, and all the world go free? No there's a cross for everyone, and there's a cross for me."
In our community, we are not persecuted like they are in other countries. In the Arab world, or in China. But we do experience persecution in subtle forms. If children attend a church activity instead of being with their team for a sporting event. It isn't long, and they are no longer on the team.
We may acquire the name, "holy Joe" if we refuse to listen to dirty jokes, or refuse to look at pornography. A Christian may lose his/her job is he/she doesn't go along with dishonest ethics. Or a Christian may be labeled "chicken" if they don't experiment with drugs or illicit sex.
In 2 Timothy 2:3-4, The Apostle Paul describes the commitment a soldier is to have: "You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier."
A farm boy accidentally overturned a wagon load of corn of the road. A farmer who lived nearby went over to have a look and found the boy trying to right the tipped wagon. "Hey Willie" the farmer said, "Forget your troubles for a spell and come have dinner with us, I'll help you with that wagon after we eat." That's mighty nice of you, but Pa wouldn't like that." Willie replied. "Awe, come on Son, take a break!" the farmer insisted. "Well, OK" the boy finally agreed, "But Pa won't like it." After a hearty meal, Willie thanked the farmer. "I feel a lot better now, but I just know that Pa will by upset!" "nonsense" the farmer said, "Where is your Pa anyway? "Under the wagon!"
How many times do we put God under the wagon, and let Satan talk us into doing whatever we want to do? We need to take seriously our commitment to God. Is it 100%? or does God get the leftovers of our lives?
THE RESERVED COMMITMENT (Luke 9:59)
Jesus issued an invitation to another. This one had some reservations. "Permit me first to go and bury my father." While the first person was too ready, this person was too reserved. Jesus was already on the road (v.57) but this man wanted to wait awhile. His life was too crowded with other responsibilities. He did not feel free to go with Jesus. He could not let go of the worries of the world. Isn't that what we do? We put Jesus in second place, somewhere down the list of priorities in our lives.
We want to be called Christians, but we give first place to other plans. Maybe down the road, we'll invest in the cause of Christ. Maybe someday. Will that someday ever come? And Satan whispers in our ears, "that we have plenty of time."
I remember as a boy growing up on the farm. My father in teaching me how to plow a field, told me to pick something across the other end of the field and to keep my eyes on it. In so doing, I would plow a straight furrow. You cannot have a straight furrow if you keep looking back. It's the same in the Christian life. To have success in the Christian life, we must keep our focus on Jesus at all times. So let's know the commitment we are making, and never ever put it off. (GP)
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