I HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS

When CPC has a baptism service it is a “big deal.” We love to celebrate with those who have expressed a desire to be baptized.

More than once, Pastor D has baptized small children—too young to read. When he asks them what is printed on their shirt they reply, “I love Jesus.” While that is so cute to hear them say, it is also very appropriate. Because it is love that drives people to follow Jesus despite of the embarrassing, inconvenient things we may be called to do.

Jesus tackled this same issue...Luke 9:57-62—As they were traveling on the road someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” 58  Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” 59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”  “Lord,” he said, “first let me go bury my father.”60  But He told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.”61 Another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go and say good-bye to those at my house.”62  But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

In this passage, Jesus forces us to reflect on our motives for following Him. These three men all thought that following Jesus was a good thing to do. Two of them expressed their own desire to follow Him, which is more than could be said of many in the crowds who heard Jesus preach. But while they wanted to follow Jesus and viewed that as important, it wasn’t the most important thing. There were other factors that needed to be considered. In the words of the third man, “I will follow You, Lord; but …

CULTURE CONTEXT:

When the second man in verse 59 said, “First let me bury my father,” it was more than likely that his father was not dead yet. First, it was common in that time to bury the dead very quickly after death because of a lack of embolming practices. Secondly, it was a common phraseology to say this when meaning one needs to stay with and care for their parents. So probably the man Jesus was calling was saying, “After my father is gone, I will follow You.”

The Bible teaches that we should care for our elderly parents. The fifth commandment advises us to honor our father and mother. Paul tells Timothy that “anyone does not provide for his own family, especially for his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8)  But, Jesus was making the point that if our commitment to family is greater than our commitment to Jesus Christ and His kingdom, we’ve got our priorities wrong.

Think of various situations where we do things for our family rather than do the things that we know are good for us spiritually.