18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. 19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
Have you ever felt abandon, misunderstood, or lonely because of your belief in Christ? Or perhaps some wrong has been done to you and you are battling with getting your own justice versus what Christ would have you do which is allow God to decide what just payment will be. I'm wondering, where did we get the notion that once we became a Christian all of our problems would be lifted and life would be easy? I can tell you where I learned it: the church. It's not fun to preach on the topics that don't sound nice and pleasing to us. For the most part, I've heard a pretty big feel-good gospel. Yet, Jesus NEVER preached that!
In fact, in this small passage, two of my biggest fears were shaken and they both have to do with being alone.
The teacher of the law WANTS to follow Jesus, and we would think Jesus would say, "Oh, fantastic! I'm so excited! This is great!" But instead, he answers the man with two warnings. Warnings! I certainly don't see the words, "it will be easy." Let's take a look...
Jesus' first reply is, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” What He's saying is that even the smallest creatures have somewhere to call "home" but God in the form of man has no where and no one. He was from Nazareth, but they wanted nothing to do with him; even his own family members thought He was a little nuts (Mark 3:21; Mark 6:2-3; Matt. 13:54-56). Who do you have if even your own family and community think you're crazy? I am comforted by my "home". As a kid, my childhood home meant safety for me. Now, my home is a place of refuge, rest, and restoration. And my community is life-giving to me: friends, friend's parents, co-workers, my church. Imagine if ALL of that was stripped away because people thought you aren't really who you say you are? When I really stop to think about that, I realize that no matter what I might feel in terms of loneliness, abandonment, or injustice, I know that Jesus experienced it EVEN MORE. So, here he is warning us...a comfortable life is not really in the picture when you follow me. People you love may abandon you. Do you still want to follow me now?
The second warning He gives is to another disciple who says he wants to follow Jesus, but first he needs to go bury his dead father. Jesus replies, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Right there is some of the discomfort that comes with following Christ. It sounds so incredibly cruel! But, what we need to know is that that phrase was often used back then to buy a little time. More than likely, the man's father was not even ill yet! So, Jesus response is telling the man, "Don't procrastinate!" If you are going to follow Him, now is the time! There will always be "something" that could keep you from doing what the Lord asks of you. But when I read that literally as a teenager, I thought, "I could never leave my parents to follow the Lord, if that's what it's asking me to do." I was so incredibly close to them, I wasn't willing to give that up. Whether or not that is the meaning of this text or not, I was still in sin. No one can serve two masters! As much as I loved my parents, I needed to love, trust, and serve God more. When my mom died, I had a new understanding to why Jesus might have said that: my mom was gone, so now who was the better person to serve and follow? Jesus! He knows what he's saying to us! It's okay to love our family, but they cannot hold a position higher than He does in our hearts and allegiances! So, his warning to us here is...Do you really want to follow me? It means placing me before all the people in your life, even those you love the most, and you need to do it NOW. Do you still want to follow me now?
There is a high cost to following Christ. There is! He's never told us differently. But the comfort and promise we have is that we can, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deut. 31:6, 8). Just two verses apart, God says practically the same thing! When you say the same thing back-to-back, we can be sure that you REALLY mean it, and you're repeating it for emphasis. Same with the Lord. He wants you to know that you CAN survive without a "home" and without a "family" or without certain "comforts" because He will be with you, and we can trust His plan!
This doesn't mean you have to pack up and leave your family today. But I ask you to search your heart, and see if you have any allegiances, or dare I say idols, that you are putting before the Lord? Our families, jobs, and even our ministries have a sneaky way of creeping up a little too high on our ladders sometimes. Confess it! Tell the Lord this morning that it is only Him that you want to follow and serve ask Him to lead you in the right direction.
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