Then a teacher of the law came to Jesus and said, "Teacher, I will follow you any place you go." Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes to live in. The birds have nests to live in. But the Son of Man has no place where he can rest his head."
Another man, one of Jesus' followers, said to Jesus, "Lord, let me go and bury my father first. {Then I will follow you.}" But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and let the people that are dead bury their own dead."- Matthew 8:19-22 (ERV)
THOUGHT:
At first glance, Jesus is unusually harsh to these two would-be followers. Jesus, however, is making clear that anything other than our allegiance to him must be secondary to following him. There must not be any rival to the complete lordship of Jesus over every area of our lives. Such a life is demanding, and as events that follow show, even terrifying at times.
There is, however, one thing that makes that life powerful and exciting: the Lord is in the lead. He sets the agenda. He provides the strength. He gives the protection. He works with power. While leaving all, risking all, and giving up all sounds quite sacrificial, it is also the doorway to finding an all-sufficient, almighty Savior.
PRAYER:
Holy Lord, I surrender my heart, my life, my possessions and my future to you. Lead me in the path that pleases you and gives you the greatest allegiance in my use of time, influence, money, and abilities. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Related Scriptures:
"Enter through the narrow gate {that opens the way to heaven}. The road that leads to hell is a very easy road. And the gate to hell is very wide. Many people enter that gate. But the gate that opens the way to {true} life is very small. And the road to {true} life is very difficult (hard). Only a few people find that road. - Matthew 7:13-14
Jesus continued to say to all of them, "If any person wants to follow me, he must say 'No' to the things he wants. That person must accept the cross (suffering) that is given to him every day, and he must follow me. The person that wants to save his life will lose it. And every person that gives his life for me will save it. - Luke 9:23-24
It is the same for each of you. You must decide if you can leave everything you have to follow me. If not, you cannot be my follower! - Luke 14:33
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