Luke 9:57 “Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”
When we look at the next verse we may get the idea that Jesus had a problem with what this man said. Quite to the contrary, this man was on the right track. As we will see, all Jesus is doing in the next verse is pulling this man into the next level, pushing him to go even farther.
‘I will follow You’ is the response that Jesus is looking for. That is the starting point. He will work on you. He will stretch your faith. But, to get off of square one with Jesus Christ we must be at this stage. Jesus will not waste your time, nor His. If you are not of a mind to follow Him, He will not get involved with you. Jesus is looking for those who have cast the die, struck the mark, and forged the mold. They have no intention of doing anything less that what they have said. They have seen Christ and have said, as Joshua of old, ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
The Bible does not use the example of a soldier to explain the Christian life because Jesus wants us to kill people. Not at all. But the illustration stands because the soldier is willing to lose his life, or spend it all, in service to the Commander. The Bible does not liken the Christian to an athlete because believers are playing a game. Not at all. But this example also stands because the athlete is fully committed, and in it to win. Jesus is after those who will chose Him because they love Him.
Heavenly Father, thank You for choosing to use humanity! You could have given us a one-time worldwide ultimatum. You could have just forced us to chose and wrapped everything up already. But, you have chosen Your way. And Your way is always the best way. Thank You! I love You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.