Saturday's Inspiration

Morning Inspiration with Pastor Merritt

“As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay His head.” He said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57-61

There are many people in our Christian society that preach the Christian life is filled with complete joy, unending blessings, and overflowing prosperity. Well, as is evident from our Scripture for today, you won’t find any prosperity Gospel in the sermons of Jesus. Jesus never promised His followers a Rolex on their wrist or a Mercedes in their garage. The Lord Jesus made it very clear that those who follow Him may have to do without. Followers of Jesus will have to endure hardships. There is a great cost to following Jesus in this life, but with the cost comes great, eternal reward.

In the passage above, we see the accounts of two different men who wanted and were called to follow Jesus. This is the account of the first man: “As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” This man had probably seen Jesus perform spectacular miracles. He heard and watched the adoration everybody gave to Jesus, and he was star-struck. But the moment Jesus described the true Christian life (verse 58), the man isn’t heard from again.

The second man’s account is similar, "He said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.” With that, this man is not heard from again. Following Jesus means we place His importance in our life above anything else; even our spouses and children.

The cost of following Jesus means we forfeit the comforts of this world, but the reward of following Jesus is eternal life! It means we gain purpose for the life we live and comfort for when the storms of life do come. I can promise you, if you will come to Jesus, with no reserves and no excuses, you will have no regrets.

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