What does it mean to follow Jesus? Too often, we have “water-downed” discipleship to mean regular church attendance, regular prayers, regular reading of the Bible, giving 1-2 % of our income and trying not to sin too much. Sadly, such a view of discipleship can be equated to being lukewarm, which makes the Lord sick at His stomach (Rev. 3:16). Discipleship is so much more than taking a little time out of our regular schedule merely to perform a few acts here and there in an effort to prove out commitment to the Lord. Discipleship is a way of life. It is our regular schedule. It is what we are about 24/7. It is a radical commitment to the Lord.
In Luke 9:57-62, Jesus explains this type of commitment. He first observes that to follow Him basically means that you will be homeless (vv. 57-58). It will cost you something. You will have to make sacrifices for the kingdom of God. You cannot get pursue a life of the American dream. You cannot get caught up with materialism. You must be willing to set all of that aside to focus on the mission at hand. Are we willing to sacrifice vacations, do without bigger homes, newer cars, name-brand clothes in order to engage in the work of the kingdom? Are we more concerned with treasures on earth or treasure in heaven. Would we be willing to sell all that we had to follow Jesus? Is He our treasure?
Next, he observes that the work of the kingdom is more important than family affairs (vv. 59-60). At first, these words seem harsh. How could Jesus deny a man the right to bury his father? Basically, it comes down to priorities. The man had a mission from God that needed to be taken care of right now regardless of anything else. God must come first. We must have a radical relationship with Him that means that everybody else takes a backseat. While loving family isn’t wrong, loving them more than God is sinful. We must we willing to put the mission of God before our spouse, our children, our parents, our friends or anybody else. God and His mission must be number one in our lives.
Lastly, He observes that following Him means a single-minded focus of moving forward in the right direction (vv. 61-62). We cannot spend our time looking back to the past or being distracted by the cares and concerns of this world. We must firmly keep our eyes on Him and keep plowing at all times. There is nothing else that is more important that the work of the kingdom. We must have the focus and determination to see it through and finish the task at hand. The devil wants to get us distracted from the job so that we lose our effectiveness. We must have a radical zeal and passion for the work and understand the urgency of the job before us.
