Only when it works for me
Matthew 8:19-22 Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 21 Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
Christ had preached his great Sermon on the Mount; his sermon in response to those who had followed his call of repentance. This sermon was of how to live as a Christian. The large crowd had followed Jesus as he came down from the mountain at the sermons end. Christ had performed miraculous healings, even by only His spoken word from afar for a Roman officers ill servant. Christ was astonished at the level of his faith. Matthew 8:8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! The crowds were growing much larger, everyone wanted to be close to Him, to hear what he had to say and to witness or receive the miracles. Many were caught up in the moment of it all.
Christ told the disciples that it was time for them to get into their boats and go to the other side of the Sea of Tiberias, it was much more that departing to flee the crowds. He knew that he must spread himself to all that would hear his words everywhere, but it was also a testing of those that would follow him. Many of us want all of Him when it is convenient, when He is at our door, or our church; but what about when He asks us to follow Him across the sea, across the street, to step out into the unknown in faith? Is your faith real, or convenient? This scripture above points to two individuals who seemed to want to step out in faith, to go the distance to follow Christ, to draw near to Him. Christ spoke clearly to each individual of the cost of discipleship. To my knowledge it is unknown how they responded. How would you?
Christ spoke to his disciples telling them of the cost of following him. Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Christ has called us to discipleship, not to life resting on the grace that came at the cost of His blood on the Cross. Can you claim the prize without running the race? Can you claim Salvation yet continue to live in sin, or let their be no evidence of Him in your life? If you are zealous on this side of the sea with Him, will you go to the other side of the sea to follow Him? Will you forsake all that you have in a temporal life for an eternal reward? What will you do, or the harder question, what will you not do to follow Christ? He may press upon you heart a great thing to gauge where your heart is with Him. Do you follow, or do you walk away? The rich young ruler was zealous, when it was convenient. Matthew 19:21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
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