Message: Reading through Luke 9 what stood out
to me today was starting in verse 59 when he was calling people to follow him
and each one said they wanted to, but they all had something they wanted to do
first. When you read it superficially the reasons sound logical, and Jesus’
response to them seems a bit harsh. One wanted to bury his father first. That
sounds reasonable until you realize that what he actually wanted to do was go
home and wait for his dad to die first.
Command: Don’t wait for my life to feel “in
order” to be ready to follow Jesus into whatever he’s calling me to do.
Promise:
Warning: Waiting gives me more time to procrastinate
and eventually choose not to follow through.
Application: When I read this I initially glossed
over it because I’ve always known this passage to be about salvation. The more
I grow in Christ the more I have come to understand that salvation is not just
a one-time event where we pray to receive Jesus. It is a lifetime commitment to
FOLLOW Jesus. Putting that into perspective I started thinking about what Jesus
was and is still asking of us. He gave all of himself and he wants all of us in
surrender. The excuses people gave him sounded logical at first until I thought
more about it. When my kids got out of high school I remember them all talking
about taking a year off before starting college. Everything inside me screamed
NO because I knew that if they didn’t start immediately, they would get caught
up with in living life, working a job and the priority to go to college would eventually
get buried. As I look at my life I see that my life was marked with
distractions. I remember thinking as a young teenager that it would be easier
to serve God when I was a grown-up. I put it off for later and although I have
served God my entire adult life I see where for long periods of time I
prioritized other things. Raising kids, being a wife and eventually going back
into the work force. This isn’t to say I didn’t have a relationship with God
this whole time. I just didn’t run with full intensity. I put off the
commitment to do things I felt called to do because I was busy raising a
family. This stung a bit but I see even lately where some of the vision and
goals God gave me sat on hold for a while. I kept trying to “get my priorities
in order” and only recently did I seriously begin to tackle them. While I’m
thankful that I’m forward moving I feel convicted to press forward with more
fervency to do what God is asking me to do. We also read about Moses today in
Exodus and it caused me to wonder what would have happened if Moses blew off God
when he was called to go to Egypt to set the Israeli people free. What if he
procrastinated? What if he chose to stay in his comfort zone by staying with
his wife and caring for the flocks? My challenge to myself is to really press
in on these visions. For my own sake but because God is calling me to it.
