"Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me . . . when you have time"
"Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me. . . unless you have something more important to do"
"Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me . . . unless you don't like what God is asking you to do (in other words, if you have a "better" plan).
"Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me . . . unless you have family plans"
Does this seem harsh? Maybe. The question is not whether or not the words are uncomfortable. The question is: are the words true? God calls us to unconditionally trust and follow Him. Even though we profess faith we tend to resist truly following Him. Discipleship is not multiple choice where we get to choose when we would like to follow Him.
This certainly has implication for the priority of weekly worship, Bible Study, Youth Group over such things as baseball games, reunions, hobbies, and the need to get some yard work done. But this is not just about Sunday morning and the fulfilling of obligations at the church. We also need to radically follow when
- He tells us to forgive
- When we try to justify behaviors He calls sin
- When we have opportunity to declare Him before others (like our friends)
- When we don't like how things are going at a ballgame
- When a boss seems to make unfair demands
- When someone offends us
- When God prompts us to pray
- When it comes to the use of our time
- When things are hard
It is easy to point our fingers at those who don't follow in the same areas we consider to be important. The challenge is to look at the totality of our lives and ask that penetrating question: "Am I honoring the Lord with my life?"
I find the words of Matthew 7 to be haunting. Jesus, talking about the last days says, "
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’"
Mt 7:21-23.
Jesus says many people will arrive at the door of Heaven trumpeting all the good things they have done. Some of those things will even be significant. Some of these people will be those we have admired in this world. Yet, they will be turned away as being false disciples. I believe most of these people will be those who were "convenient Christians". They served the Lord when it served their purposes. God wants to us to honor Him as Lord. We can't do this simply when it is convenient.
