Wednesday, July 21st  – Following Jesus

Jesus called the disciples to fellowship, belief and discipleship. Jesus was also calling them to new territory. He was inviting them to leave the comfort zone of the familiar waters of the Sea of Galilee to go to places they had never been before. Jesus was calling them to new jobs, new tasks. He was beckoning them to do things they had never done before.

A follower is not asking the question “How can I be comfortable?” Many of us are not following Jesus we’re following comfort. We’ve made comfort our God it’s what we live for, work for, and sacrifice for.

When Jesus calls us to take up our cross, he is not talking about accepting normal human suffering like illness, economic troubles, rebellious children. These things are important to Jesus: he heals the sick, feeds the hungry, he weeps at the grave of a friend, and raises him to life. They are important, but they are not our cross to bear.

Jesus intends us to totally surrender to the will of God the Father. Surrender is not a very popular word in today’s church instead we have replaced it with a new word, commitment. Commitment, in and of itself, does not necessarily take away from surrender. The problem could be on how we commit. Many people commit to many things, particularly within a religious setting, we commit to prayer, we commit to Bible study, we commit to church attendance.

For most people this does not qualify as surrender. The reason being, we are still in control. We decide how much, how long, how often. We decide when, how and if. Our commitment must be to full surrender, or else we have not totally denied self.

If we will not deny self we do not possess the ability to die to self. God is a God of order; if we refuse self denial it is inevitable that we will do everything possible to further our own will and desires. Jesus warns us, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” (Luke 9:23). The cross will keep us out of the forefront and allow people to see Jesus.

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