As they were traveling on the road someone said to Him, 'I will follow You wherever You go!' Jesus told him, 'Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.'
Then He said to another, 'Follow Me.'
'Lord,' he said, 'first let me go bury my father.'
But He told him, 'Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.'
'Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord, but first let me go and say good-bye to those at my house.'
'But Jesus said to him, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.'"
Luke 9:61
Of all the people who crossed Jesus path the three men in the passage above remind me most of me and the rest of the "followers" in our churches today. Expressing good intentions to follow Jesus anywhere, their common sense became a road block between them and their faith walk. Jesus clearly explained the costs of following Him by identifying the specific sacrifice each man would struggle with most.
The first would-be follower declared his good intention to follow Jesus anywhere in a burst of emotion and shallow devotion. Evidently, Jesus foresaw a young man who loved to sleep in comfort and who would turn back home the first time he found himself sleeping around a campfire, in a barn or in a strange place.
Ahh, we do love our comfort and spend a good bit of time and money investing in comfortable homes and furniture. When we travel, we like a certain chain of motels because they're clean, comfortable and serve a good breakfast. Wandering from place to place with Jesus would mean exchanging the comforts of home for who knows what and it's just common sense to have a plan and a place to lay your head, right?
The second follower was ready with a more plausible reason for not immediately following Jesus. The phrasing sounds as if either his father had recently passed away or was on his death bed. However, Jesus' response lacks compassion if those were the circumstances. More than likely, the man had an aging father with whom he wanted to stay until his death before following Jesus.
Tom and I struggle with being so far from our parents and families now that there seem to be more health issues and a new baby to consider. Caring for our families is biblical and honorable so we've found ourselves constantly clarifying God's call to each new church. We've had to live by faith that if God has called us away from our families, we can trust Him to take care of them when we can't. After all, it's just common sense to stay with and care for family members, right?
Finally, the third follower said he would follow Jesus and asked simply for the time to run home and say good-bye to his family before hitting the road. What a thoughtful young man! He said the right thing to Jesus and wanted to do right by his mama so she wouldn't worry when he didn't show up for dinner that evening. Hmmm. I believe Jesus knew what mama and daddy would say when their boy showed up to announce he was leaving home to walk the streets with Jesus and spread the good news of the kingdom of God. They would've said the same thing this mama would say: "Have you gone off your rocker? Who is this man? What do you really know about him and here, baby, have a piece of Mama's fried chicken or a warm cookie while you tell me about it." Maybe the young man was counting on his parents talking him out of taking this leap of faith. Then it would be their fault he hadn't followed through and not his. He was simply being a good son because it's just common sense to let the people you love know what you're doing and where you're going so they won't worry, right?
You've played "third follower" like me whenever we feel God tugging on us to do something big for Him and we realize His call will cost us and the people we love. What do we do? We tell the common sense people in our lives who are least likely to support a leap of faith, knowing they'll throw the proverbial wet blanket on the fire of our faith so we'll get back in line and settle down and stop rocking the boat of common sense by taking unnecessary risks.
These three would-be followers represent three sets of priorities and excuses. Each of them allowed common sense to trump their faith. Our priorities and comfort also determine whether we'll be ruled by common sense alone or whether we'll walk by faith. Living by "just" common sense shuts faith out of the picture but listening intently to the Holy Spirit teaches us to discern between choices requiring "just common sense" and choices calling for an uncommon faith. Jesus' call to follow Him anywhere is the litmus test of faith. He calls us to live by an uncommon faith that cuts out the personal "but firsts" we offer Him as just common sense.
Father, we're full of excuses and we do love our comfort. Stretch us to be more than that. Forgive us for setting personal priorities above You. Teach us when faith should trump common sense and when common sense is enough. Mighty God, rule us with Your Love and increase our love for You and faith in You. You deserve followers who follow through on following You. Fill us with faith to be followers with uncommon faith.
In the Name of Jesus Who sacrificed everything to lead us to You,
Inspired by My Utmost for His Highest
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