Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” 18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’” 20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” 21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” 22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:17-22)
Just like the story above you can be doing all the right things, and still be holding onto something that you are unwilling to let go of. These are the times that our hearts are truly tested. If Jesus were to walk up to you today what would be the one thing that you would be unwilling to let go of? What relationship, possession, place, attitude, offense, resentment, and other emotional baggage are you unwilling to let go of? Jesus looked at this young man with love but he still went away sorrowful. It may break your heart to walk away from the people you love but Jesus said, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:25-26) "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." v33 It may be truly sad to be away from everything you know to pursue God just as it was for Abraham and many others but there is always a palace for the Josephs who were broken in the prisons and were faithful to do what God called them to do. The rewards aren't always immediate but when we obey God, He rewards nonetheless. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) That's the point of all this, isn't it? Are we willing to trust God, and have faith that He knows best? Can we trust God that He will give us the things that we are willing to forsake here on earth or will we make excuses for hanging onto mundane things?
Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, 17 and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ 18 But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’20 Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ Luke 14:16-20
We are all so good at making excuses. As we have read in previous verses we can use family as an excuse not to follow Him. However, in the above passage, we see that when people used marriage, business or even real estate it was never a good enough excuse to get out of coming to the Lord's supper table. I don't know about you but when I was growing up and we were called to eat at the table we had to stop what we were doing. Some of us would rather play in the world than eat at His table. Still, others are eating at Satan's table, and have no room in their spirits for anything else. Many of us get so busy that we don't take the time to eat, and sup with Jesus. Every day the Holy Spirit has the fresh manna of heaven to sustain us for the day, and we make excuses why we can't eat. We make excuses why we don't follow him, come to him, deny ourselves, and die to self.
Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 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.” 59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:57-62)
Again we see Jesus challenging people to follow Him that had excuses for what seem like legitimate priorities. Still, housing, saying goodbye, burying a loved one and even tying up what seems to be loose ends come secondary to preaching the Kingdom of God. In Jesus' book, there is only one priority and that's following Him. There is nothing or no one more important. If God is calling you to come then we must step out of the boat! Right now God has called many of you to follow him but you are still hanging onto dead moves, old wineskins, traditions of men, and some of you still look back longing for what you left behind. Jesus said that if we look back we are not fit for the kingdom. We need to leave the dead things behind, and let stuff resolve itself without our help. It really will be okay if you leave that dead church that is holding you in stagnation. They will survive if you leave. Trust God. We can be so co-dependent and think that the universe will not operate if we aren't involved. I know because I struggle with this too. We don't have time for drawn-out goodbyes to unhealthy relationships and situations. Leave that dead stuff alone. Pray, and if God chooses to raise it then may it be His doing. You follow Him. I knew this word was for me but I also knew it was for so many of us who look forward to celebrating His resurrection but are unwilling to let go of some things. I ask you again, "Are you going to walk away sad? Or are you going to put your hand to the plow never to look back?" I'm handing you the cross of Christ. Will you carry it to be part of the resurrection? Will you follow Him and be part of the marriage feast of the Lamb?
I just want to say this in conclusion to all the above. The reason we make excuses for following Christ is that it requires carrying a cross. The cross of Christ means we need to die. Many of us don't want to die because it requires giving up things we "think" give us pleasure. This is all deception because sinful pleasure is temporary but the misery it brings later will always make you wish you would have never gone down that road. What we don't realize is that after death is resurrection. We get so focused on the dying part that we forget that our resurrection is much more glorious than our suffering in death. Both in the natural and in the spirit. Once you are on this side of the cross and you truly decided to follow Him it is absolutely worth it. The peace alone of being right in Christ is amazing.
If you are reading this and are convicted to change please pray this with me and find someone who will baptize you into repentance.
Father, forgive for all the excuses I've made not to follow you. I choose to give up all the things of this world, surrender, deny myself and follow you. I ask you to help me by your grace. In Jesus name, Amen!
Jaziz Gutierrez