Jesus was a contrarian. Once, a scribe came to him and vowed to follow Him wherever He went, and instead of expressing His delight at one soul saved, Jesus complains about his own lack of privacy. In the very next verse a man asks for time to bury His father before dropping everything to follow Jesus, and the man receives the rebuke, “Let the dead bury the dead.”
How can we please this man when those who want to follow right away are sent away, and those wanting to go are told to come?
Jesus, what would you have me do?
It reminds me of that song, “Should I stay or should I go now? If I stay there will be trouble! If I go there will be double . . . ” Lord, what do you expect of me? Is there any way to please You?
But without faith it is impossible to please Him.
For He that cometh to God must believe that He is a rewarder
of those who diligently follow (seek) Him.
What did Jesus know about the two men who came to him? Was the first a wanderer, just out to please himself, and that’s why Jesus rejects his offer to follow Him everywhere? Or did He suspect he was dealing with the equivalent of a modern day investigative reporter? . . . Was the second a true seeker who just needed to get his priorities straight?
What do we have in our lives keeping us from dropping everything and following this singular, contrary man to the ends of the earth?
I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’ve already taken the plunge. In fact, I’m living, literally, at the ends of the earth because this is where He called me to be. And now I’m just wondering, “What’s next, Jesus? What is your plan for me?”