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Are you an enthusiastic volunteer of Christ?

Are you an enthusiastic volunteer who needs to do more thinking about the realities of the Christian life and the hardships involved?

The enthusiastic volunteer

"As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, I will follow you wherever you go."  Here's what seems, on the face of it, a quite encouraging and indeed remarkable statement.  Matthew tells us this man was a teacher of the law, a man who would no doubt have had his own disciples, yet he comes to Jesus and asks to be a follower, a disciple.  There is no reason to doubt his sincerity.  He'd given a little thought to it too as he says, not just "I'll follow you", but "I'll follow you wherever you go."  He realised that discipleship would probably involve moving from place to place.  He knew something about Jesus and the Twelve and their constant movement.  He's the sort of volunteer that we'd be glad to find, I'm sure, in these days when such things seem to be so rare.

Jesus's answer and the call to think about the realities of the Christian life and the hardship involved

However, Jesus obviously saw something not quite right.  There is more than one instance of this sort of thing, where Jesus's answer to an apparently attractive, appealing and sound statement is not what we might have expected.  "Jesus replied, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.'"

Birds of the air we know a little about - there are still plenty around of various sorts.  Even the children know that a bird's home is called a nest.  They can vary quite a bit but are usually made of twigs and leaves and whatever else can be found and built in trees, under roofs, or wherever's convenient and out of harm's way.  We see lots of birds at times but we rarely see their nests.  However, we can be sure that they all have nests to go to and, where they don't, are quite capable of making a new home for themselves.

Foxes we're less familiar with, but there are plenty about.  We see them from time to time and we know that they have their holes - dens or lairs.  We don't know exactly where, but each one has a hideaway somewhere to sleep before coming out to prowl.  We could say the same for almost any animal.  You never see a fox on the street with his paw out and a bit of cardboard saying, "Homeless - vixen and three cubs to feed."

But as for the Son of Man, says Jesus, he has nowhere to lay his head.  Such a statement may surprise us in some ways; but think about it.  Luke's just described (verses 52-53) how when Jesus sent messengers ahead of him into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him, "... the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem."

This was far from being the first instance of that sort.  When he was born, there was no room at the inn.  Then the family had to flee as refugees down into Egypt.  Early in John (5:58) we learn of attempts to kill Jesus in Judea.  It was the same in Galilee.  "From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him." (John 6:66)  When he healed the Gadarene demoniac the people soon asked him to leave.  It all leads up to his rejection in Jerusalem and the cross; where he's even forsaken by the Father himself.  He truly had nowhere to lay his head.

It was important for this would-be follower to understand this.  He was attracted no doubt by the miracles and the great crowds.  He was keen, enthusiastic, eager, ardent, but needed to think more about the harsh realities, the hardships ahead.

Perhaps that's you.  You want to be a Christian, but you haven't really thought it through.  Oh, it is a happy life, a wonderful life; but it's also demanding.  It calls for taking up the cross, self-denial, sacrifice, service and suffering.  Are you willing to give up everything to be Christ's?  Compare it with volunteering for the army.  You must consider not just foreign travel, career opportunities, camaraderie, pay; but also tough training, calls to far away places, missed holidays, being much on duty, the fact you may be injured or even die.

Are you a reluctant follower of Christ?

Are you a reluctant follower of Christ who needs to learn to get his priorities right, leave the world behind and proclaim Christ's kingdom?

The reluctant follower

"He said to another man, 'Follow me.' But the man replied, 'Lord, first let me go and bury my father.'" Here's a man who is often there when Jesus is speaking, often seen with the disciples.  Jesus looks at him on this occasion and says, "Follow me."

Some of you are like that man.  You're often here, though you're not an actual disciple.  Jesus says to you, indeed to all of us, "Follow me."  In Jesus's army, there's no conscription as such; all are, in one sense, volunteers.  His word does go out, however; his call is issued - "Follow me."  Perhaps you're drawn to him when you hear his call, but you have other things on your mind; other matters are a priority.

The man says that he needs first to bury his father.  This could mean, "My father has died and I need to hold a funeral for him and so I can't follow you just now" or, less likely, "My father's alive and I need to stay at home until he dies and passes on the inheritance."  Because of tradition and climate, burial usually took place as soon as possible.  To give a person an honourable funeral was a kindness and a duty.  For the rabbis, it was more important than reading the Bible or going to synagogue or temple.  It seems like a reasonable request then.  But Jesus refuses.

Jesus's answer and the call to get your priorities right, leave the world behind and proclaim Christ's kingdom

"Jesus said to him, 'Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.'" The meaning is fairly clear: "Leave the burying of the physically dead to the spiritually dead.  You give yourself to preaching the kingdom of God."

It comes as a bit of a surprise though.  "What?  Not even bury your own father?  Miss his funeral?  Seems a bit over the top."  Why did Jesus say this?  Well, it is certain that he wasn't placing a blanket prohibition on going to funerals or those of unbelievers.  Why did he say what he said then?  Certainly this word was just for this man himself.  No doubt there may have been many reasons for it.  For example:

• The fact that Jesus was about to leave meant it was simply impossible for the man to attend the funeral and deal with anything arising, such as his father's estate.
• Perhaps Jesus was concerned that if this particular man attended the funeral he'd be drawn into things that would do him no spiritual good - the noise and the hypocritical mourning, etc.  If he was going to receive and be a blessing, he needed to get out of that environment.
• Perhaps Jesus wanted to stress that in his kingdom earthly ties come second.  Certainly when Jesus gives a command it is to be obeyed.  When he says "Follow me", we must follow - whatever else that may mean leaving behind or missing.

What's your excuse for not following the Master?  What's holding you back?  Come to him.  Follow him from now on.  No reason can excuse you from following him and proclaiming his kingdom.

Are you a hesitant follower of Christ?

Are you a hesitant follower of Christ who needs to learn make up his mind, leave the world behind and serve in Christ's kingdom?

The hesitant follower

"Still another said, 'I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-bye to my family.'"  Here's another would-be follower and he, too, has excuses.  Again, we feel, "What could be more reasonable?  Why would Jesus not allow something as simple as this?"

But, again, we must remember that Jesus sees what we can't see.  Just as he could see the rich young ruler's problems with money, and his love for it; so with this man, we can be sure Jesus saw that going back to say goodbye would be a problem.

One can see some cult taking hold of this verse and misusing it to ban contact with one's family.  That would be an abuse.  Rather the lesson is that we can be so caught up with the things of this world that we can be indecisive about following Christ.  If anything is making us indecisive, however innocent in itself, we must be determined to leave it behind to serve Christ.

Jesus's answer and the call to make your mind up, leave the world behind and serve in Christ's kingdom

"Jesus replied, 'No-one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.'" The picture of the man ploughing and looking behind is a common one.  In ploughing, it's important to have straight lines.  It's almost impossible to do that if you're looking behind you.  It's like walking or running in a straight line while looking backwards.  Stopping and looking behind is easy, of course, but that's not the picture.  Jesus means looking behind when you're supposed to be ploughing forward.  It can't work.

So, when it comes to following Christ, you can't follow him while you're looking the other way.  A divided heart will never follow Christ.