When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village. As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:51-62, NRSV)
Control is a big thing in all of our lives. We want to be in control.
But life gets in the way… The big question is, is there something in your life that makes a difference? Is Jesus a part of your life and does He make a difference?
In today’s gospel lesson, Jesus asks some people to follow Him and they have some reasonable requests, to bury their dead and say farewell, nothing any of us would not ask for. But Jesus says no, we have to give up control and let His will trump our plans and desires.
The picture above says a lot, if you were on trial for being a Christian, a follower of Christ, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Does Jesus make a big enough impact on your life that others know you are a follower, without you having to convince them? Or to put it another way, does your life ooze Jesus?
aSacredRebel 